THE  MILITARY 

OCCUPATION   OF 

NEW  MEXICO 

^    1846-1651    •   ^ 


Ralph  Emerjoh  Twitchell 


{ 


L  i 


THE  HISTORY 

Oh    IHK 

Military  Occupation 
Territory  of  New  Mexico 

FROM    1S46    TO    1S5  I 


(X)VKRNMKNT  OF  THK 
UNI  TKD  STATKS 


I()(;KlHh:R    \\  11  H 


Biographical   Sketches  of   Men    Prominent  in 

the  Conduct  ot   the  (lovernment 

Durinfr  that   Period 


HY 

R.ALPFi  KMKRSOX  TWITCHELL 
\  ict-Pnsukiit  Now  Mexico  Historical  Socictv 


IlI'NVI'R.   CliI.ORAIlci 
llll-     S.MM  H-BKOIIKS    CllMl'ANV,     I'lBLISHERS 

1909 


Copyright,  1909 
By  Ralph  Emerson  Twitchell 


General  Stephen  Watts  Kearny, 


To  the  memory  of  Lawrence  L.  Waldo,  who  h)st  his  life 
by  the  assassin's  bullet,  at  Mora,  New  Mexico,  c.n  the  first 
day  of  the  Mexican  uprising,  January  19,  1847,  this  volume 
is  inscribed. 

He  was  a  i)ioneer  ui)on  the  old  Santa  Fe-Chihuahua  Ti'ail, 
and,  in  all  his  Inisinees  nnd  social  relations,  was  the  true 
concept  of  a  gentleman. 

Although  a  non-combatant,  he  was  a  martyr  to  the  march 
of  American   ])rogress  and  civilization. 


CONTENTS 


Page. 

CHAPTER  1 17 

1.  The  War  with  Mexico.  2.  Causes  and  Leading 
Events.  3.  Position  Claimed  by  Mexico.  4.  The  United 
States  and  Its  Claims.  5.  Annexation  of  Texas  No 
Just  Cause  for  the  War.  6.  Mexico  Begins  Hostilities. 
7.  Congress  Declares  Existence  of  War. 

CHAPTER  II 38 

1.  Organization  of  the  Army  of  the  West,  Under 
General  S.  W.  Kearny.  2.  March  Across  the  Plains 
and  Concentration  at  Bent's  Fort.  3.  The  Army 
Invades  New  Mexico  and  Crosses  the  Raton  Mountains. 
4.  The  Army  Reaches  Las  Vegas  and  General  Kearny 
Makes  Address.  5.  The  Army  Moves  on  the  Capital  by 
Way  of  San  Miguel  and  the  Apache  Pass.  6.  General 
Manuel  Armijo  Masses  Mexican  Forces  at  Apache  Pass. 
7.  General  Kearny  Receives  Word  that  Armijo  Has 
Fled  and  Army  Dispersed.  8.  Army  Proceeds  to  Santa 
Fe.  9.  General  Kearny  Takes  Possession  of  Capital  and 
Hoists  the  American  Flag.  10.  Proclamation  Issued, 
Claiming  New  Mexico  for  the  United  States.  11. 
Kearny,  with  a  Substantial  Force,  Marches  Down  the 
Valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  Returns  to  Santa  Fe. 
12.  Kearny;  with  Portion  of  the  Army,  Leaves  for 
California,  Colonel  Doniphan  Remaining  in  Command 
at  Santa  Fe. 

CHAPTER  III 95 

1.  The  March  to  Chihuahua.  2.  Colonel  Doniphan 
Ordered  Against  the  Navajo  Indians.  3.  Treaty  with 
the  Navajo  Indians  by  Doniphan.  4.  Colonel  Doniphan 
Proceeds  Down  the  Valley  of  the  Rio  Grande.  5.  Battle 
of  the  Brazito.  6.  Colonel  Doniphan  Occupies  El  Paso. 
7.  Marches  on  the  City  of  Chihuahua.  8.  The  Battle  of 
Sacramento.     9.  Occupation  of  the  City  of  Chihuahua. 

10.  Departure    of    Army    for    Saltillo    and    Monterey. 

11.  Return  of  the  Army  to  the  United  States. 


Page. 

CIIAPTKK    IV 12'J 

1.  (Jcncral  Slcrling  IM'ice  in  Command  at  Santa  FO. 
:.'.  TIk'  Aichiilcta  ('onsi)iiacy.  :'..  The  Taos  Revolution. 
I.Tiie  KiHing  of  Governor  Charles  Hent.  .'>.  The  Bat- 
tles of  l.a  ("afiada,  Embudo,  Taos  and  .Mora.  (>.  The 
Leaders  Are  Tried  l).v  Court  Martial  and  Hanged.  7. 
Fi.ght  with  Indians  at  Red  River  Canon.  8.  Fight  at 
Las  Vegas  and  Destruction  of  the  Town.  9.  Fight  at 
Arroyo  Hondo.  10.  Fr.  Antonio  Jose  Martinez.  11. 
L«\gislative  Assembly  Under  .Military  Rule.  l2.  Differ- 
ences Between  Military  and  Civil  Authorities.  18. 
Formation  of  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico. 

BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 

General  Stephen  Watts  Kearny 20o 

Governor   Donaciano   Vigil 207 

Willard  P.  Hall 2:50 

Diego  Ai'chuleta 288 

Thomas  H.  Benton 2nO 

Carlos  Beaubien   2<)7 

Christopher  (Kit)  Carson 271 

S.   .Manuel   Antonio   Chaves 2S."> 

:i.   Nicolas  Pino    810 

David  Waldo 828 

William  (iili)in    887 

.lohn   W.  Reid 84r. 

Francis  P.   Blair.  .Jr 8ti8 

It.  General   Sterling   Price 8r)S 

1."..   Henry  Connelly 8(5.") 

.lames  .Magoffin 8V(; 

Antonio  .lose  Otero 8(il 

Richard  Hanson  Weightman ...  881 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Subject.  Page. 

I'ortrait  of  General  Stei)heu  Watts  Kearny ;> 

Poilrait  of  General  A.  \V.  Doniphan IS 

(Government   Scout — He  J^ed  the  Way Tl 

The  Army  of  the  West  Grossing  the  Great   Plains 2.j 

Old   F'ort   Bent '. 21 

A  Valuable  Aid  to  the  Commissary  Depaitment ;>() 

The  Army   Grossing  the  Sapello 34 

General  Kearny  Addressing  the  People  of  Las  Vegas..  ..  ',',1 

The  Army  Leaving  Las  Vegas  for  Santa  Fe oi) 

Ruins  of  Pecos  Pueblo — Ancient  Aztec  Kiva 42 

Ruins  of  Old  Gatholic  Church  at  Pecos  Pueblo 44 

Alcalde  of  Pecos  Announcing  Flight  of  General  Armijo.  .  47 

The  Army  at  Apache  Pass 'A 

Portrait  of  General   Manuel  Armijo 55 

Fac-Simile  of  Proclamation  of  General  Armijo 58-59 

Raising  American  Flag  Over  Old  Palace 66 

Old  Palace,   1  !)09 G8 

Proclamation  of  General   Kearny  at   Santa  Fe 70-71 

Fac-Simile  of  Oath  of  Allegiance  of  Juan  Bautista  Vigil  y 

Alarid 76-77 

Plan  of  Santa  Fe  and  Its  Environs 81 

Portrait  of  Governor  Charles  Bent 85 

Fac-Simile  of  Page  of  Stamped  Paper 88 

General    Kearny    and    Command    on    the    Gila,    En    Route 

to  California 90 

Santo  Domingo  Indians  EIntertaining  Kearny  and  Staff.  .  .  92 

Fac-Simile  of  Page  of  Kearny  Code 94 

Portrait  of  General  Doniphan  at  Seventy  Years  of  Age.  .  .  97 

Portrait  of  General  Sterling  Price,  1846 99 

General  Doniphan  Concluding  Tieaty  with  Xavajo  Indians  101 
General   Doniphan's   Command   Crossing   the   Jornada   del 

^Muerto 1  OH 

Plan  of  the  Battle  of  Brazito 104 

Fac-Simile  of  Black  Flag  Carried  by   .Mexicans  at  Battle 

of  Bi'azito 106 

The  Battle  of  Brazito 108 


Subject.  Page. 

Cannon  Captured  at  Battle  of  Sacramento 110 

Plan  of  the  Battle  of  Sacramento 112 

Charge  of  Captain   Reid  at  Sacramento 114 

The  .Missouri  .Mounted  Volunteer 117 

Old  Church  at  Taos 126 

Battle  of  Taos — Death  of  Captain  Burgwin 130 

Portrait  of  Fr.  Antonio  Jose  Martinez 135 

Battle   of    Mora 137 

Fight  at  Las  Vegas 143 

.Monument  to  General  Doniphan  at  Liberty,  Missouri 189 

Portrait  of  Gen.  S.  W.  Kearny 202 

Portrait  of  Donaciano  Vigil    206 

Portrait  of  Willard  P.  Hall 229 

Portrait  of  Don  Diego  Archuleta 238 

Fac-Simile  of  Certificate  of  Decoration  of  Cross  of  Honor 

to  Archuleta  by  Mexican  Government 241 

Don  Diego  Archuleta  in  Plaza,  1884 245 

Fac-Siniile  of  Brigadier  General's  Commission  to  Archu- 
leta by  Governor  Connelly 246 

Portrait  of  Thomas  H.  Benton 249 

Portrait  of  Carlos  Beaubien   266 

Portrait  of  Christopher   (Kit)   Carson 270 

West  Pueblo  at  Taos 273 

Old  Home  of  Carson  at  Taos 276 

Grave  of  Carson  at  Taos 281 


Portra 
Portra 
Portra 
Portra 
Portra 
Portra 
Portra 
Portra 
Portra 
Portra 


t  of  Manuel  Antonio  Chaves 284 

t  of  Nicolas  Pino    309 

t  of  David   Waldo    322 

t  of  William  Gilpin  336 

t  of  John   W.    Reid 345 

t  of  General  Sterling  Price 357 

t  of  Governor  Henry  Connelly 364 

t  of  Frank  P.  Blair 367 

t  of  James  .Magoffin   375 

t  of  Richard  Hanson   Weightman 380 


INTRODUCTION. 

A  comprehensive  history  of  New  Mexico  remains 
to  be  written.  Many  books  and  pamphlets,  covering 
vai'ious  periods  in  its  liistory,  have  been  published  but 
no  one  of  them  is  entirely  free  from  errors  and  inac- 
curacies. 

The  general  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  events  which 
have  transpired  in  this  portion  of  our  country,  even 
during  so  brief  and  recent  a  period  of  our  history  as 
that  covered  by  this  volume,  displayed  by  the  average 
citizen  in  casual  conversation,  has  prompted  and  in- 
duced its  })reparation.  While  nmking  no  special  pre- 
tense as  an  historical  writer,  the  author  has  attempted 
to  record,  with  reasonable  accuracy,  the  events  of  the 
American  Occupation  period.  For  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  centur}-  a  citizen  of  New  ^lexico,  he  has  always 
been  interested  in  securing  all  the  information  possible 
relative  to  its  past.  No  opportunity  was  lost  by  way 
of  inquiry  of  the  old  residents  of  the  City  of  Santa  F6 
and  elsewhere  during  the  first  years  of  his  residence 
in  the  Territory.  Almost  all  of  the  old  men,  who  were 
personally  cognizant  of  the  affairs  of  New  Mexico 
during  the  war  with  Mexico,  have  passed  away,  but 
in  many  note  books  has  been  faithfully  recorded  every 
statement  of  consequence,  bearing  upon  the  history 
of  New  Mexico  as  communicated  by  them  to  the  au- 
thor. Old  documents,  pictures  and  books  and  letters 
have  been  collected  and  preserved  with  scrupulous 
care. 

While  yet  very  young  and  living  in  Jackson 
county,  Missouri,  the  author  met  and  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  General  Donii)han  and  Colonel  John  W. 


Ivt'id.  >\li(»  li.id  hccii  ;i  ciipljiin  in  1  )(»iii|>lian's  rcf^inu'iit. 
( >ii  iiiini.v  (ircjisioiis  he  liiis  lisiciicd  to  a  rocital  of  the 
tvciits  transpiring  dtiiiii^  tlic  j;r<'at  niai<li  from  the 
.Miss<Miii  rivci-  to  Chiliiialiua.  (Irncial  l)oiii])lian  was 
always  williiij;:  to  tell  of  liis  ('X|K'ri('iii-»'s.  ('olon»'I  Kcid 
often  told  of  the  hattU's  of  lliazito  and  Sacramento.  It 
was  he  who  actnaily  led  a  chai-};*'  of  eavaliy  up  the  hill 
at  Sacramento,  aj^ainst  an  enemy  enticnched  and  re- 
sist inji  with  hejivy  aitilleiy  the  assault  of  the  j;allant 
Missouri  volunteei-s.  From  him  was  leafne<l  the  story 
of  the  battle  of  lirazito.  how  the  l)lack  tiaj;  waved  from 
the  lance  of  the  .Mexican  otti( cr  who  demanded  the 
snrieiKh'r  of  Donijdian.  the  tli^lit  of  Ponce  de  l^M)n, 
the  Mexican  general,  the  (h*feat  of  tlie  enemy  at  Sacra- 
mento, the  (Mciipation  of  Chihuahua,  its  evacuation 
and  the  army's  marcli  to  join  (leneral  Zachary  Taylor. 
These  stories  made  jireat  im])ressions:  the  juctures 
foiined  of  battles,  of  ti<;hts  with  Indians,  the  huntin}; 
of  butlalo.  the  treaty  with  the  Xavajos  and  the  de- 
scriptions of  localities  and  individuals,  have  never 
been  eradicate<l  and  are  as  vivid  and  as  realistic  as 
t houjih  of  yesterday. 

New  Mexico,  in  its  more  than  tliree  c<'nturies  of 
Spanish.  Mexican  and  .\merican  ((tntrol.  has  b«'en  the 
theatre  of  much  histoiic  <Iiama.  II«M-e  is  presented  to 
the  student  a  wondeiful  field  of  historic  research.  The 
American  <>ccn|»ation  period  has  been  chosen  as  the 
one  most  easily  d<'scribe<l.  and.  at  the  same  time,  one 
of  the  most  intei(*stin«i:  in  the  history  of  the  American 
people,  containing,  as  i1  does,  the  deeds  of  men  wlio 
won  the  West,  men  whose  c(»ura^<'.  devotion  to  country 
and  true  citizenship  <  nabled  them  to  ••accomi»lish  tlic 
irieat'-st  militaiy  .Mliievemeiit  of  modern  times,  a 
sinjilc  rc^^imcnt  of  ciii/.eii  sohliers.  marchinj:  nearly 
six    thousand    miles   throui:!!    ti\"e   states   of  a    foreign 


iiiilioii.  Ii\iii^  oil"  llic  icsonrcM's  of  tlic  invjidcd  coimtry. 
iilmost  jiiiiiiliiliit iiij;  ii  powcrt'nl  iiniiv.  coiHiiicrin;;'  ami 
trcaliiiu  willi  powcifiil  Indian  tribes,  and,  iclui'ninjj; 
lioinc,  j^iaccd  willi  llic  tr<)])hi('s  of  victoiy,  all  willi  tlic 
loss  of  h'ss  than  a  luindicd  men." 

Such  dcM'ds  should  appeal  io  every  loyal  American 
and  should  tind  ]»ortrayal  in  every  school  house 
thi-ou<;hout  the  land,  Ihei-eby  ins]»iiin<;  and  instillin<j; 
the  lessons  of  ]»at riotisni,  honoi-.  valor  and  love  of 
country. 

In  the  j)r(^paiarion  of  this  volume  occasion  has 
been  had  to  consult  the  fcdlowinji  autlioiities: 

Kendall's  Santa  Fe  l']xi)edition. 

(Jre<i<;"s  Commerce  of  the  I'laiiies. 

Marcy's  Prairie  Travel  lei-. 

l»artlett"s  Exjdorations  in  New  Mexico. 

Ke])orts  of  C)p<'rations  of  tlie  Army  of  the  West — 
Emoiy.  Abert.  Cooke  and  .Johnston. 

Ilujihes"  Donijdian   Kxpedition. 

Th?  Doniphan  I']x])ositicn — Connelley. 

('am](aij»nin<;  with  Doniphan.  Edwai-ds. 

Ke]»orts  of  AMu'cler  and  Powell. 

Messajics  of  the  Presidents,  Jackson.  Polk  and 
Tayloi-. 

History  of  New  .Mexico — Piiiice. 

Letters  on  The  .Mexican  ^\'ar — Ex.  Document 
Number  (iO. 

The  X'ijiil  Pajjeis — N.  M.  Historical  Society  Li- 
brary. 

New  .Mexican  Archives  at  \\'ashin<iton,  D.  ('. 

Court  Records — Santa  Fe  and  Taos. 

New  Mexico  Historical  Society  Library. 

The  ]>orti-aits  and  illusti-at  ions  are  coi)ies  of  old 
prints,  oil  ]iaintin;^s.  (bx-uuHMits.  books  and  many  steel 


('n}4;raviii}j;s  and  wood  cuts  and  lithographs.  These 
have  been  faithfully  and  artistically  reproduced.  A 
number  of  the  illustrations  are  by  K.  M.  Chapman, 
an  artist  of  Las  Vegas,  N.  M.,  drawn  from  combina- 
tions of  old  pictures  and,  with  the  use  of  historical 
data  and  present  physical  conditions,  all  are  authentic 
and  reliable. 

RALPH  E.  TWITCHELL. 
Las  Vegas.  New  Mexico,  January  1,  1900. 


The  Military  Occupation 


OF  THE 


Territory  of  New  Mexico 

FROM    1846  TO    185I 


TllK  MIIJTAKV  (M'Cri'ATlOX  OF  MOW  .MIOXK'O, 
1840-1S51. 

CIIArTKK    I. 

1.  The  War  with  Mexi(to.  2.  Causes  and  Leading  Events, 
o.  Position  Claimed  by  Mexico-.  4.  The  I'nited  States  and 
Its  Claims.  5.  Annexation  of  Texas  No  Just  Cause. 
6.  Mexico  Begins  Hostilities.  7.  Congress  Declares  Exist- 
ence of  War. 

Accuracy  of  knowlcd^^e.  iiitimale  accinaintance 
with  facts,  iiiastei-v  of  tlie  sources  of  evidence  and  of 
stat(Mii('iits,  arc  the  iiecessai-,v  fundaiiicntal  factors  in 
Iiistoi'ical  wiitinji.  (Jreat  dilijiencc  and  patience  are 
inipoitant  adjuncts. 

In  tlie  ])res(Mitation  of  many  related  truths,  tlie 
historical  writer  often  tinds  it  most  difficult  to  convey 
an  impression  Avhicli  is  itself  a  com])osite  truth.  Tn 
the  review  of  some  period  ()f  the  military  histoi-y  of  our 
country  a  faithful  i)resentation  does  not  necessarily 
consist  in  recordin<i  every  fact  and  omittin«i  none. 
Modes  of  ]>resentat ion  oftentimes  yix-e  impressions 
which  are  contradictory.  Facts,  it  matt'ers  not  hoA\' 
exhaustively-  ac(|uire<l.  are  merely  the  stone  and  mortar 
of  the  writer  of  history.  One  d;)es  not  have  to  be  an 
artist  that  he  may  ]»i'operly  examine  and  read  arcliives, 
but  some  thoujiht  and  study  are  recpiired  for  the  mak- 
in«»-  of  truthful  comment  as  to  the  sijuiiiticance  of  their 
contents. 

I*r()i>er  conclusions  demand  j^reat  researcli.  To 
obtain  them,  the  facts  demand  analytical  study.  The 
leadiuii    features    must    be    jirasped.      Their    relations 


^>^;J^^^^-^^^ 


Hf'prltit  of  Portrait  in  Ilnphcs'  Donlpliiiii  Hx|M'(lltloii. 


MILITARY    OCCLTATIOX    OF    NEW    MKXICO.  19 

innst  be  undorstood,  and,  with  this  material  in  hand,  a 
presontation  will  bo  logical. 

The  true  historian  delights  in  sharing  the  emo- 
tions of  a  great  general  whose  place  in  history  has 
been  tixed  by  some  conspicuous  deed  of  valor. 

The  writer  of  history,  in  his  presentation  of  events 
occurring  during  a  given  period,  may  be  compared  to 
the  lawyer  in  the  preparation  and  presentation  of  a 
case.  The  lawyer  first  acquaints  himself  with  the  facts. 
He  then  applies  the  law  and  forms  his  conclusions. 
The  writer  of  history  digests  all  the  accounts  of  any 
series  of  events.  From  these,  varied  though  they  may 
be,  he  draws  a  conclusion.  The  lawyer,  as  he  brings 
out  the  facts  for  the  consideration  of  a  jury,  is  en- 
gaged in  preparing  the  mind  of  the  juror  for  the  for- 
mation of  a  conclusion.  Later,  in  his  capacity  of  advo- 
cate, he  does  not  recite  to  the  jury  what  the  witnesses 
have  said  verbatim,  but,  in  a  logical  presentation  of 
the  principal  facts,  endeavors  to  assist  the  juror  in  the 
formation  of  a  conclusion  similar  to  the  one  he  has 
himself  drawn  from  a  study  and  investigation  of  the 
weight  which  should  attach  to  each. 

So  the  historical  writer  should  not  be  merely  a 
narrator,  a  chronicler.  He  should  not  be  the  witness 
giving  testimony.  He  should  be  the  lawyer,  the  advo- 
cate, the  painter,  the  artist  evolving  an  historical  pic- 
ture for  the  mind  and  creating  impressions  which  re- 
sult in  conclusions. 

We  have  all  read  historical  narrative  which,  by 
the  superabundance  of  details  and  occurrences,  even 
though  one  read  as  carefully  and  as  intelligently  as 
is  possible,  produces  a  generality  of  impression,  which 
may  be  likened   to  the  viewing  of  a  moving  picture 


■_M>  TIIK     .MII.ITAIJY    OfCrrA'I'lON 

tiliii:  Imm*'  iiinl  tli(M«'.  ;is  the  film  iiiiwinds.  an  incidont 
r;it»li('s  tlic  jitt<'nti<m  :iii<l  j»r<>l)sil»l.v  is  rotainod  h.v  hhmm 
(ti_v,  1)111  nf  tlic  wliolc  we  liavc  iiotliiii';  but  a  rapidly 
niovinjj  surccssion  of  iinajics  t(»  which  tlioro  is  littlo 
hut  h('<;iiiiiiii};  and  on<l. 

Thcro  have  hocn  many  accounts  of  tho  ovonts  oc- 
cnninji  (iniin<;  the  wai-  with  Mexico.  The  jiallant 
dee«ls  of  Doniphan  and  his  men  have  been  sunj;  in 
sonjf  and  stoiy.  There  have  been  criticisms  of  the 
policy  of  our  ^overnnuMit  for  its  prosecution  of  the  war. 
Durinj;  and  immediately  succeeding  the  war  many  nar- 
ratives and  memoirs  found  way  into  print.  The  de- 
bates in  con<iress.  the  rep(u-ts  of  commandinji:  ofTicers, 
the  messajies  of  l*resi(h'nt  Polk,  the  multitude  of  letters 
and  jtroclamations.  all  bear  witness,  when  dijjested 
after  th<*  la|;se  of  more  than  half  a  century,  that  the 
dijiuit.N  and  honor  of  the  Ameiican  peoj)le,  as  voiced 
by  the  j^reat  majority  of  the  conj;ress  of  the  Tnited 
States  in  the  Act  of  May  !.'>,  lS4t;.  wherein  it  was  de 
clar<'d  that  "by  tli<*  act  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  a 
state  of  war  <'xists  between  that  {government  and  the 
I'liiled  States,"  «h'manded  that  all  differences  between 
our  country  and  Mexico  existin*;  at  that  time  must  be 
settled  by  the  j^od  of  war. 

"The  \\(»rld  had  twice  witnessed  the  extraordinary 
spectacle  of  a  jiovernment.  in  violation  of  its  own  ex- 
press ajii-eement.  r<*jectin<;  a  minister  of  j)eace  fi-om 
the  I'liited  StaK's.  clothed  with  full  |»oweis  for  the 
amicable  adjustment  (tf  existin;;  dill'erences."  said  IM'cs- 
i<lciii  I'oik.  Mt»dern  history  pre  sents  no  case  in  which. 
in  time  of  peace,  one  nation  has  refused  to  even  hear 
prrtposii  idiis  from  another  for  the  termination  of  exist- 


OF     I'lIK     I'KKIil  roUY    OF    XKW     MKXICO.  21 

iii<»'  (liHiciillics  h('(\\<*(Mi  the  two.     This  was  llic  state  of 
all'airs  when  th<'  Ad  of  May  i:',  lS4r».  was  passed. 

11  was  iiiaiiifest  (h'sliiiy  that  the  Aniei-ican  Hej)ul) 
lie  iimst  sooner  oi-  hiter  l)ecoine  the  possessor  of  its 
pi-eseiit  area. 

Nine  years  before  the  actnal  coiniiieiicenient  of  hos 
tilities,  Presi(h'nt  Andrew  -Jackson  was  of  tlie  opinion 
that  tlie  tieatnient  of  American  citizens  by  our  sister 
rei)nblic  liad  becimie  intolerable  and  slioiild  be  no 
lon<>er  endnred.  In  a  niessaf;e  to  conjiress  in  February. 
IS."!!,  he  said  that  "'tlu^  length  of  time  since  some  of 
these  injuries  have  been  committed,  the  rej)eated  and 
nnavailin<;  applications  for  redress,  the  wanton  char- 
acter of  some  of  the  outraj>es  upon  the  pro])erty  and 
persons  of  our  citizens,  upon  the  oflicers  and  tlaji  of 
(he  FnitiHl  States.  independcMit  of  recent  insults  to 
this  liovcMiiment  and  peojde  by  the  late  extraordinary 
^lexican  minister,  would  justify,  in  the  eyes  of  all  na- 
tions, immediate  wai-.'"  But  in  a  spirit  of  kindness 
and  forbearance,  in  a  matter  of  such  national  concern, 
unlooked  for  in  a  man  lik<'  Andrew  Jackson,  he  further 
declared  that  war  should  not  be  used  as  a  lemedy  "by 
just  and  ucnerous  nations,  contidinji'  in  their  str-enji'th 
for  injuries  committ(Ml.  if  it  can  honorably  be  avoided,'' 
and  added,  "it  has  occurred  to  me  that,  considerino;  the 
])resent  (unbairassed  condition  of  that  country,  we 
should  act  with  both  wisdom  and  moderation  by  o;iv- 
in<>'  to  ^l(^xico  one  more  o]»]tortunity  to  atone  for  the 
j)ast  before  we  take  redress  into  our  own  hands,  and 
to  avoid  all  misconception  on  tlie  i)art  of  ^rexico,  as 
well  as  ti)  protect  our  own  national  character  from  re 
jiroach.  this  o]»];()rtunity  should  be  "iven  with  the 
avow(Ml  d(^sii>ii  and  full  pre])aration  to  take  immediate 


He  Led  the  Way — Government  Scout. 


MILITAUY    OCl'irATlUN     OK    MOW     .MKXU'O,  23 

satisfaction,  if  it  should  not  he  obtained  on  a  repeti- 
tion of  tlie  demand  for  it." 

Committees  of  both  liouses  of  congress,  to  which 
tliis  message  of  I'resident  Jackson  was  referred,  fully 
sustained  his  views  of  the  character  of  the  wrongs 
which  we  had  suffered  from  Mexico.  In  fact,  no  dif- 
ference of  oi)inion  upon  the  subject  is  believed  to  have 
existed  in  congress  at  that  time.  Both  the  executive 
and  the  legislative  branches  of  our  government  con- 
curred, and  yet,  such  was  the  forbearance  and  desire 
to  preserve  peace,  that  the  wrongs  of  which  our  coun- 
try complained  and  which  gave  rise  to  these  solemn 
proceedings  in  congress,  not  only  remained  unredressed 
but  additional  causes  of  complaint  of  an  aggravated 
character  were  constantly  accumulating. 

POSITIOX    OF    MEXICO. 

The  government  of  Mexico  claimed  that  the  United 
States  was  overwhelmed  with  a  desire  to  extend  its 
territory  at  the  expense  of  that  of  Mexico,  and  that  so 
far  as  Texas  was  concerned,  it  had  been  the  firm  and 
certain  determination  that  the  Texas  Republic  should 
become  a  part  of  the  United  States.  That  the  Ameri- 
can government  had  connived  at  it  and  that  this  fact 
created  an  imperious  necessity  that  Mexico,  for  her 
own  honor,  should  repel  it  with  proper  firmness  and 
dignity.  It  was  declared  by  the  supreme  government 
of  ^lexico  that  it  would  loolv  upon  the  annexation  of 
Texas  as  a  casus  belli ;  and,  as  a  consequence,  negotia- 
tion was  by  its  very  nature  at  an  end,  and  war  was  the 
only  recourse  of  the  Mexican  government. 

Mexico  declared  that  agents  of  the  United  States 
had  been  active  in  the  Re]>ublic  of  Texas,  promoting 
the  cause  of  annexation,  and,  availing  themselves  of 


LU  MIMIAUV    OCCll'ATlON    OK    MOW     MKXUO. 

Ill*'  shilu  ((IK)  of  Mexico,  had  so  |»iei»ai('d  and  diiwted 
alVaiis  that  annexation  was  hastened  and  etteeted  bv 
means  of  violence  and  frand. 

Her  statesmen  beheld  with  ania/.enient.  at  sucli  an 
iMiliiiiilened  and  letined  ej)Och.  a  poweifnl  and  well 
consolichited  state,  availing  itself  of  the  internal  dis- 
sensions of  a  nei<ihborin<>  nation,  putting;-  its  vif^ilance 
t;)  sleep  In  protestations  of  fi-iendship,  setting  in  action 
all  manner  of  springs  and  artifices,  alternately  i)lying 
intrigue  and  violence,  and  seizing  a  moment  to  despoil 
her  of  a  precious  territory,  i-egardless  of  the  incontro- 
\('rtible  rights  of  tl:e  most  un(pi(>stioned  ownership 
an<l  the  most  uninteirupted  ]»ossession. 

''IMie  Mexican  Minister  of  ForcMgn  liclations  stated 
that  "if  wai-  sh!)uld  finally  Ix'come  inevitable,  and  if. 
in  consiMpienie  of  this  war,  the  peac<'  of  the  civilized 
world  should  he  disturbed,  the  resjionsibility  will  not 
fall  upon  Mexico.  It  will  all  rest  upon  the  Tnited 
States:  not  upon  Mexico,  who,  with  a  generosity  un- 
<'ipialle<l,  admitted  the  Tnited  States  (itiz(Mis  who 
wished  t;»  colonize  in  Texas,  but  upon  the  Tnited 
States,  who,  bent  upon  possessing  themselves,  early  or 
late,  of  that  tei'i-itory.  encouraged  emigiation  thitiier 
with  that  view,  in  or<h'r  tlat.  in  due  time,  its  inhabi- 
tants, converting  themsehcs  from  colonists  into  its 
masters,  should  claim  the  countiy  as  their  own,  for 
llie  pur|»(»se  of  transferring  il  to  the  Tnited  States. 
Not  up(ui  .Mexico.  \\1m»,  having  in  due  season  protested 
against  so  enormous  a  1 1  ansgression.  wished  to  remove 
all  c;iuse  U>v  controxcrsy  and  hostilities,  but  upon  the 
I'liited  St;iles.  who.  to  the  scandal  of  the  world,  and 
in    iii;iiiif<'<l   \iol;ition   of  treaties,  gave  pr(»lection   and 

Cm  rt'siioiidciicc  between  Don  J.  M.  (le  Castillo  y  I^aiizjit^ 
;in<l   .I«.lin   Sli(l<-ll,    .March    12.    IStf,. 


2()  MILITARY    OCCLTATIOX    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

aid  to  those  jrniltv  of  a  rehollion  so  iniquitous.  Finally, 
not  upon  Mexico,  who,  i)utting  out  of  view  her  own 
dearest  interests,  through  her  deference  for  peace,  has 
entertained  as  long  as  was  wished,  the  propositions 
which,  with  this  view,  might  be  made  to  her,  but  upon 
the  United  States,  who,  by  frivolous  pretexts,  evade 
the  conclusions  of  such  an  arrangement,  proposing 
peace  at  the  very  moment  when  they  are  causing  their 
s()uadrons  and  their  troops  to  advance  upon  the  ports 
and  frontiers  of  Mexico,  exacting  a  humiliation  impos- 
sible to  be  submitted  to,  in  order  to  find  a  pretext,  if 
no  reason  can  be  found,  which  ma.y  occasion  the  break- 
ing out  of  hostilities.-' 

POSITION   TAKEN   BY   THE    UNTrED  STATES. 

In  response  to  the  declarations  made  by  the  Mex- 
ican Minister  on  Foreign  Kelations,  Honorable  John 
Slidell,  Special  Envoy  of  the  United  States,  declared 
that,  in  the  face  of  incontrovertible  evidence,  Mexico 
had  abandoned  all  intention  or  even  hope  of  ever  re- 
establishing her  authority  over  an}-  portion  of  Texas, 
and  that  the  statement  that  "Texas  had  been  an  in- 
tegral part  of  Mexico,  not  only  during  the  long  jieriod 
of  Spanish  dominion,  but  since  its  emancipation,  with- 
out any  interruption  whatever  during  so  long  a 
jMM'iod."  came  as  a  great  surprise  to  him,  and  to  learn 
that  "the  United  States  had  despoiled  Mexico  of  a  val- 
uable })ortion  of  her  territory,  regardless  of  the  incon- 
tro\<'rtibIe  rights  of  the  must  uncpiestionable  property 
and  of  the  most  constant  possession,"  was  not  sus- 
tained, and  liiat  from  the  time  of  the  battle  of  San 
.Ia(iiit(».  in  April.  \s:U>,  to  the  moment  of  writing. 
Texas  had  snstaiiKMl  and  exhii)ited  the  same  external 
signs  of  national   iiuh'pendence  as  Mexico  herself,  and 


Old  Tort  Bent. 
Kcliriiit  fi-(im  Hughes'  Donipbau  Expeditiiiii. 


2S  Till-:     MILITARY    OCCITATION 

with  «niiti*  as  niiicli  stability  of  <j;(>v(M-niii('nt  :  and,  «iuot- 
in^  frniii  Mr.  Daniel  \\'el)slt'r.  Sccrctai-y  of  State, 
■•piact ically  fice  and  indejiendent  ;  a(kn()\vled}i;ed  as  a 
political  sovereignty  by  the  principal  powers  of  the 
world;  no  hostile  foot  tindinji;  rest  within  her  terri- 
tory for  six  or  seven  years,  and  Mexico  herself  refrain 
inji  for  all  that  jH'riod  friiin  any  fnrther  attenij)t  to  re 
establish  her  own  autiioiity  over  the  territory.''  "How 
weak."  said  Mr.  Slidell,  "ninst  be  the  cause  wiiich  can 
only  be  sustained  by  asserticnis  so  inconsistent  with 
facts  that  are  notorious  to  all  the  world;  and  how  un 
founded  are  all  these  vehement  declarations  aj!;ainst 
the  usurpations  and  thirst  for  territorial  a«i;<j;randize 
nient  of  the  United  States  I  The  indej)endence  of 
Texas,  then,  being  a  fact  conceded  by  Mexico  herself, 
she  has  no  right  to  prescribe  restrictions  as  to  the  form 
of  government  Texas  might  choose  to  assume,  nor  can 
she  justly  complain  that  Texas,  with  a  wise  apprecia- 
tion (»f  hei-  true  interests,  has  thought  proper  to  merge 
hei-  sovereignty  in  that  of  the  United  States.'" 

"The  Mexican  government  can  not  shift  the  re 
s|K»nsibility  of  war  upon  the  United  States  by  assum 
ing  that  they  are  the  aggressors.  \\'ith  what  reason 
does  Mexico  attribute  to  the  United  States  the  desire 
of  tinding  a  pretext  to  commence  hostilities?  The 
appearan<e  of  a  few  ships  of  war  on  the  Mexican 
coasts,  and  th<»  advance  of  a  small  military  force  to 
the  frontiei-  of  Texas  are  cited  as  evidence  that  the 
(h'clarations  «,f  desii-e  to  preserve  the  peace  are  in 
>incere.  Surely  it  can  not  be  necessary  to  remind  youi' 
•  ■xccllciicy  that  the  menaces  of  war  have  all  proceeded 
from   Mexico." 

"With    these    iivowed    intentions    on    the    part    of 
M'-.\ic(».  and.  so  far  as  words  c;in  constitute  war.  that 


OF    TIIH    TKKKITOUY    OF    XKW     .MFXUO.  -') 

stale  actuallv  exislinji,  willi  what  faiiiicss  can  she 
coiMplaiii  of  prccaulions  liaviiiji  been  laUcii  by  tlic 
rnilcd  States  to  iinard  against  the  attacks  with  which 
thev  have  been  nu  naced." 

On  the  (lay  folhiwinj^  tlie  sendinj^'  of  the  letter  from 
wliich  the  fore^<»in<i'  extracts  have  Ixen  taken,  the  ISth 
day  of  Ma!(  h.  at  Matanioras,  more  than  twelve  hundred 
mih's  from  the  seat  of  the  Mexican  ^oveinment.  (leneral 
Fran(  is«  ()  .Mejia.  in  command  of  the  .Mexican  forces  in 
that  de]»ai'tment.  delivered  an  address  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  his  district  and  to  his  soldiers,  among  other 
thin<»s,  declaring;: 

-••FeMow  Countrymen: — ^^"ith  an  enemy  which  re- 
spects not  its  own  laws,  wliich  shamelessly  derides  the 
vei-y  ])i-incii)les  invoked  by  it  ])reviously.  in  order  to 
excuse  its  and)itions  views,  we  have  no  other  resource 
than  arms.  We  are  foitunately  always  prepared  to 
take  them  up  with  j»lory  in  defense  of  our  country; 
little  do  we  regard  the  blood  in  our  veins,  when  we 
ai-e  called  upon  to  shed  it  in  vindication  of  our  honor, 
to  assure  our  nationality  and  independence.  If,  to  the 
torrent  of  devastation  which  threatens  us.  it  is  neces- 
saiy  to  op]>ose  a  dike  of  sttcl.  our  swords  will  form 
it;  and  on  their  sharj)  ])oints  will  the  enemy  receive 
the  fruits  of  his  anticiitated  conipiest.  If  the  banks  of 
the  Panuco  have  been  immortalized  by  the  (bfeat  of 
an  enemy.  resj)e(  talde  and  worthy  of  the  valor  of 
Mexico,  those  of  the  I>iavo  shall  witness  the  ignominy 
of  the  ])roud  sons  of  the  North,  and  its  diep  waters 
shall  serve  as  the  sepulchre  of  those  who  dare  to 
approach  it.  The  tlame  of  jtatriotism  wliich  burns  in 
our  hearts  will  receive  new  fuel  from  the  odious  ]»res- 

-Address  of  General  .Mejia — Letters  on  ttie  .Me.xican  War 
—Ex.  Doc.  Xo.  GO,  page  t28. 


MILITARY    OCCUl'ATION    OP    NEW    MKXICO.  31 

cnce  of  the  conquorors ;  and  the  cry  of  Dolores  and 
If^uala  sliall  be  re-echoed  with  harmony  to  our  ears 
when  we  take  nj)  our  inarch  to  oppose  our  naked 
breasts  to  the  rifles  of  the  hunters  of  the  Mississippi." 

This  address  was  delivered  nearly  one  month  prior 
to  the  commencement  of  hostilities  and  is  abundant 
evidence  of  the  preparations  then  making  by  Mexico 
for  a  conrtict  which  she  evidently  courted. 

It  was  also  claimed  by  the  American  congress  and 
the  President  of  the  Tnited  States  that  Mexico,  by 
evasion  and  the  interposition  of  many  forms  of  diffi- 
culty and  delay,  had  twice  violated  the  faith  of  treaties, 
by  failing  and  refusing  to  carry  into  effect  the  sixth 
article  of  the  Convention  of  January,  1843.  That  con 
vention  declared,  upon  its  face,  that  the  arrangement 
between  the  two  countries  was  entered  into  for  the 
accommodation  of  Mexico.  Awards  for  claims  against 
^lexico.  for  losses  sustained  by  American  citizens  at 
the  hands  of  citizens  of  our  sister  republic,  amount- 
ing to  several  millions  of  dollars,  made  by  a  duly  con- 
stituted commission  appointed  by  both  governments, 
Mexico  Avas  unable  to  liquidate. 

The  United  States  was  asked  to  postpone  the  time 
of  payment  and  the  request  of  Mexico  was  promptly 
complied  with.  Again  Mexico  failed  to  comply  with 
the  terms  of  the  convention,  which  provided  for  an 
indemnity  to  our  citizens  for  acknowledged  acts  of 
outrage  and  wrong,  and  refused  to  make  payment. 
The  policy  of  our  government  toward  Mexico  was  one 
of  kindness,  consideration  and  forbearance.  In  addi- 
tion to  her  failure  to  comply  with  her  solemn  obliga- 
tions, as  declared  by  treaty,  she  was  constantly  giving 
cause  for  new  complaints  and  new  demands  for  in- 


.TJ  Tin:   MiMTARV  ocrri'ATiox 

(Iciimifv  to  that  extent  tliat.  while  the  citizens  of 
the  l'nit<Ml  States  were  condnct inji  a  hiwful  coninierce 
w  illi  .Mexico  nnder  tiie  j^narantv  of  a  treaty  of  "amity, 
commerce  and  navijiat ion."  many  suffered  all  the  in- 
juries which  would  have  resulted  from  ojten  war.  The 
treaties,  instead  of  atfordinji;  protection  to  American 
citizens,  were  the  means  of  invitin*>;  them  into  the 
ports  of  Mexico,  tliat  they  mijflit  be  j)lundered  of  their 
pi-operty  and  deprived  of  their  perscuial  liberty,  if  they 
dared  insist  upon  their  ri<>;hts.' 

It  was  beli(ved  by  the  American  peojde  and  so 
declared  upon  tin-  tloors  of  con<;ress.  that,  '"in  so  lonji 
sulVerinji  Mexico  to  violate  her  most  solemn  treaty 
obligations,  jdunder  (Uir  citizens  of  their  property  and 
imprison  their  persons  without  attordinji;  them  any 
i-edr<ss.  we  have  failed  to  perform  one  of  the  first  and 
hi<;liest  duties  which  every  goveinnu'ut  owes  to  its  citi 
zens""  and  that  'the  proud  name  of  American  citizen, 
wliicli  oujiht  to  protect  all  who  bear  it  from  insult 
and  injury  Ihrou'jjhout  the  world,  has  afforded  no  such 
jtrotection  to  our  citizens  in  Mtxico."  In  a  message 
to  conj^ress.  President  Polk  declared:  "We  had  amjde 
cause  of  war  ajiainst  Mexico  loufj  before  the  breakiu}; 
nnt  of  hostilities;  lint  ev<'n  then  we  forebore  to  take 
ledress  into  our  own  hands  until  >[exico  herself  be 
c;ime  the  a<;};ressor  by  invadiufj  our  soil  in  hostile 
ana.\   and  shcddinji  the  blood  of  our  citizens." 

The  annexation  of  T(  xas  to  the  Tnited  States  was 
no  just  cause  for  offense  to  Mexico.  It  was  pretended 
that  such  was  the  case,  but  the  contention  is  wholly 
inconsistent  with  the  well-known  facts  connected  with 
the  r*  voluticm  by  which  Texas  l>ecanu'  indepen<lenf  of 

Dch.Mics   ill   rongrcss — 184fi. 

'.Mcsh;ik(    of   I'lfsidcnl    I"f)l!<.  Dcccnibcr  8.   184fi. 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  33 

Mexico.  Texas  had  declared  her  independence  and 
maintained  it  for  more  than  nine  years.  She  had  an 
organized  government  in  successful  operation  during 
that  period.  Her  separate  existence,  as  an  independent 
state,  had  not  only  been  recognized  by  the  United 
States,  but  by  the  principal  European  powers  as  well. 
Treaties  of  commerce  and  navigation  had  been  con- 
cluded with  her  by  different  nations,  and  it  had  be- 
come manifest  that  any  further  attempt  on  the  part 
of  Mexico  to  conquer  Texas  would  be  vain.  Mexico, 
herself,  had  become  satisfied  of  this  fact,  for,  while 
the  question  of  annexation  to  the  United  States  w^as 
pending  before  the  people  of  Texas,  the  Mexican  gov- 
ernment, by  formal  act,  agreed  to  recognize  the  inde- 
pendence of  Texas,  provided  she  would  not  annex 
herself  to  any  other  power.  This  formal  agreement, 
whether  or  not  the  proviso  was  carried  out,  was  con- 
clusive against  Mexico. 

Meanwhile  the  President  of  the  United  States  had 
declared  that  our  relations  with  Mexico  were  in  a  very 
unsettled  condition;  that  a  revolution  had  occurred 
in  Mexico  by  which  the  government  had  passed  into 
the  hands  of  new  rulers.^ 

The  minister  of  the  United  States  had  not  been 
received  by  the  existing  authorities.  Demonstrations 
of  a  character  hostile  to  the  United  States  continued 
to  be  made  in  Mexico  and  nearly  two-thirds  of  the 
army  of  the  United  States  was  concentrated  on  the 
southwestern  frontier.  This  action  had  become  neces- 
sary to  meet  a  threatened  invasion  of  Texas  by  the 
Mexican  forces.  This  invasion  was  threatened  solely 
because  Texas  had  determined,  in  accordance  with  a 

"Message  of  President  Polk  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  March  24,  1846. 


iMILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  35 

resolution  of  our  own  government,  to  become  a  part 
of  the  American  Union,  and  claimed  the  Rio  Bravo 
on  the  south,  instead  of  the  Rio  Neuees,  as  its  boundary 
with  Mexico;  and,  under  these  circumstances,  it  was 
plainly  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  extend  Ameri- 
can protection  over  her  citizens  and  soil.  The  Ameri- 
can forces  were  concentrated  at  Corpus  Christi.  The 
commanding  general  was  under  positive  instructions  to 
abstain  from  any  aggressive  act  toward  Mexico  or  her 
citizens  and  to  regard  the  relations  between  that  Re- 
public and  the  United  States  as  peaceful,  unless  she 
should  declare  war  or  commit  acts  of  hostility  indica- 
tive of  a  state  of  war. 

The  Mexican  forces  at  Matamoras  assumed  a  bel- 
ligerent attitude  but  no  open  act  of  hostility  was 
committed  until  April  24,  1846,  on  wiiich  day  General 
Atrista  communicated  to  General  Zachary  Taylor  that 
"he  considered  hostilities  commenced  and  should  pros- 
ecute them."  "  On  the  same  day,  a  party  of  dragoons 
sent  out  by  General  Taylor,  became  engaged  with  a 
superior  force  of  the  Mexican  army  in  which  some 
sixteen  Americans  were  killed  and  the  balance  cap- 
tured. 

IMEXICO    BEGINS    HOSTILITIES. 

Thus  actually  began  the  w-ar  with  Mexico.  On  the 
13th  day  of  May  following,  a  proclamation  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  announcing  the  exist- 
ence of  war  between  our  country  and  Mexico,  was 
promulgated.  General  Taylor,  already  authorized  by 
the  President,  by  way  of  precaution,  accepted  regi- 
ments of  volunteers,  not  from  the  state  of  Texas  alone, 

"Letter  of  General  Zachary  Taylor,  April  26,  1846,  to  the 
Adjutant  General  of  the  Army,  Washington,  D.  C. — Ex.  Doc. 
No.  60,  page  288. 


3fi  MILITARY    OCCLTATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO, 

but  from  the  states  of  Louisiana,  Alabama,  Mississippi, 
Tennessee.  Missouri  and  Kentucky.  These  volunteers 
were  called  out  by  the  governors  of  the  several  states. 
President  Polk  asked  congress  for  authority  to  call  for 
troops  and  for  means  to  carry  on  the  war.^ 


'.Message  of  President  Polk  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  May  11,  1846. 


('HAPTER  II. 

1.  Organization  of  the  Army  of  the  West,  under  General  S.  W. 
Kearny.  2.  March  Across  the  Plains  and  Concentrate  at 
Bent's  Fart.  3.  The  Army  Invades  New  Mexico,  Crosses 
the  Raton  Mountains.  4.  The  Army  Reaches  Las  Vegas 
and  General  Kearny  Makes  Address.  5.  The  Army  Moves 
on  the  Capital  by  Way  of  San  Miguel  and  the  Apache  Pass. 
6.  General  Armijo  Masses  Mexican  Forces  at  Pass.  7.  Gen- 
eral Kearny  Receives  Word  that  General  Armijo  Has  Fled 
and  Army  Dispersed.  8.  Army  Proceeds  on  Way  to  Santa 
Fe.  9.  Kearny  Takes  Possession  of  Capital  and  Hoists 
American  Flag.  10.  ProclamatioTi  Issued  Claiming  New 
Mexico  for  United  States.  11.  Kearny  with  Substantial 
Force  Goes  into  Valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  Returns  to 
Santa  Fe.  12.  Kearny  with  Portion  of  the  Army  Leaves 
for  California,  Leaving  Colonel  Doniphan  in  CoTnmand. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  immediately 
bej^an  the  formation  of  plans  for  the  orj^anization  of 
;hi  expedition  to  invade  the  northern  provinces  of 
Mexico.  This  expedition  was  known  as  the  "Army  of 
the  West"  and  its  command  was  given  to  Colonel, 
jiftcrwards  Brigadier  General,  Stephen  W.  Kearny.  It 
was  destined,  particularly,  for  the  conquest  of  New 
Mexico  and  California.  The  command  consisted  of 
two  batteries  of  artillery,  under  the  command  of  Major 
Clark,  three  squadrons  of  dragoons,  under  Major 
Sumner,  the  1st  Regiment  of  Missouri  Cavalry,  under 
C(»lonel  A,  W.  Doniphan,  and  two  companies  of  in- 
fantry tinder  Captain  Angney.  Colonel  Kearny  com- 
menced his  march  from  Ft.  Leavenworth,  on  the 
Missouri  Kivor,  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  1840.  The 
<ntir<'  (MMMinand  when  concentrated  upon  the  Arkansas 
]ii\('i'.  cftusisted  of  1.558  men  and  sixteen  pieces  of 
ordnance.  The  annv  was  detached  in  different  columns 


40  TIIK    MILITAIiV    OCC'irATION 

from  Ft.  Lcavcnwoith  and  iviinited  on  the  Arkansas 
Kiver,  near  Bent's  Fort,  on  the  1st  day  of  August, 
1846.  The  exact  point  of  concentration  is  not  known, 
but  it  is  said  to  have  been  at  a  place  nearly  nine  miles 
beh)w  the  fort,  about  twelve  miles  northeast  of  Las 
Animas,  Colorado. 

It  was  at  this  point  that  the  expedition  was 
joined  by  Frank  P  Blair,  Jr.,  of  Missouri,  who  was  a 
health-seeker  at  Bent's  Fort  at  the  time.*^ 

Bent's  Fort  is  described  as  having  been  a  struc- 
ture built  of  adobe  bricks.  It  was  180  feet  long  and 
\'.i'}  feet  wide.  The  walls  were  15  feet  in  height  and 
four  feet  thick  and  it  was  the  strongest  post  at  that 
time  west  of  Ft.  Leavenworth. 

The  construction  of  this  fort  was  commenced  in 
1S2S.  the  first  fort  erected  by  William  Bent,  at  a  point 
on  tlie  Arkansas,  somewhere  between  the  j)resent  cities 
of  Pueblo  and  Canyon  City,  having  been  disadvantage- 
ously  located.  Four  years  were  recpiired  in  which  to 
complete  the  structure.  On  the  northwest  and  south- 
east corners  were  hexagonal  bastions,  in  which  were 
mounted  a  number  of  cannon.  The  walls  of  the  fort 
served  as  walls  of  the  rooms,  all  of  which  faced  in- 
wardly on  a  court  or  plaza.  The  walls  were  loopholed 
foi-  musketry,  and  the  entrance  was  through  large 
wooden  gates  of  very  heavy  timl)ers.  Forty-five  years 
ago  the  old  walls  were  standing  and  the  entire  struc- 
nne  was  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation,  but  to-day  not 
a  vestige  remains,  excei)t  possibly  mounds  of  earth  re- 
sulting from  tlu'  disintegrating  adobe  bricks  of  which 
the  walls  were  built. 

'Emory's  Notes  of  a  Military  Reconnoisance  from  Ft. 
Loavenwortli  to  San  Diego — Senate  Doc.  30th  Cong.,  1st  Ses- 
sion. 


OF    TIIK    TERIUTORY    OF    NKW    MEXICO.  41 

It  was  near  this  fort  that  the  first  irrijjating  ditch, 
constructed  by  Americans  in  Colorado,  was  built.  The 
lands  irrigated  were  between  the  fort  and  the  ford  of 
the  river.  It  was  constructed  under  the  su|)ervision 
of  William  Bent. 

At  this  point  Kearny  despatched  Lieutenant  De- 
Courcey,  with  twenty  men,  to  the  Taos  valley,  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  the  disposition  of  the  inhabi- 
tants in  that  portion  of  New  Mexico,  and  to  inform 
himself  as  to  other  matters  of  importance,  germane  to 
the  expedition,  and  report  to  the  general  somewhere 
671  route.  This  officer  rejoined  the  column  on  August 
11th,  on  the  Ponil,  in  what  is  now  Colfax  county,  New 
Mexico,  bringing  in  a  number  of  Mexican  prisoners, 
who  gave  exaggerated  reports  of  the  Utes  and  other 
Indians  joining  the  Mexicans  for  the  purpose  of  op- 
posing the  advance  of  the  American  army,  at  some 
point  between  Las  Vegas  and  the  Capital  at  Santa  ¥6. 

On  the  2nd,  Captain  Cooke  was  sent  in  advance, 
under  a  flag  of  truce,  to  Santa  F^,  carrying  with  him  a 
proclamation  issued  by  General  Kearny  on  the  31st 
day  of  July.  On  the  9th  day  of  August,  Cooke  reached 
Las  Vegas,  where  he  met  the  Alcalde,  Don  Juan  de 
Dios  Maes,  and  was  a  recii)ient  of  his  hospitality.  The 
Alcalde,  however,  immediately  despatched  a  swift  mes- 
senger across  the  mountains,  by  a  short  trail,  carrying 
a  copy  of  Kearny's  proclamation  and  notifying  Gov- 
ernor Armijo  of  Cooke's  arrival  at  Las  Vegas.  Captain 
Cooke,  on  the  following  day,  proceeded  on  his  journey, 
passing  through  San  ]Miguel,  where  the  inhabitants 
turned  out  en  masse  to  see  him,  and  on  the  12th  ar- 
rived in  Santa  Fe.  Here  all  was  excitement.  The  city 
was  filled  Avith  soldiers  and  citizens  gathered  for  the 


MILITARY    OCCLl'ATlUX    OF    MOW    .MKXICO.  43 

orgnnizaiion  of  a  force  to  resist  tlio  American  advance. 
Ca])tain  (Jooke  and  his  party,  among  whoni  was  James 
Magoffin  of  Chihuahna,  proceeded  to  the  Old  Palace, 
the  seat  of  government,  and  were  met  by  the  ^layor  of 
the  city,  Captain  Ortiz,  who  conveyed  the  news  to 
Governor  Armijo,  to  whose  presence  Captain  Cooke 
was  shortly  conducted.  The  governor  was  informed 
by  Cooke  that  he  had  been  sent  by  General  Kearny, 
commanding  the  American  army,  bearing  a  letter  which 
he  would  present  at  the  pleasure  of  his  Excellency, 
and  a  later  Jiour  was  set  for  the  official  reception  of 
the  communication.  In  the  evening  Cooke  presented 
the  letter  and  afterwards  his  call  was  returned  by 
Governor  Armijo,  who  said  he  would  send  a  commis- 
sioner to  meet  General  Kearny,  and  declared  further 
that  he,  himself,  would  lead  a  force  of  six  thousand 
men  to  meet  the  Army  of  the  ^Vest. 

A  most  excellent  understanding  prevailed  at  all 
times  during  the  ])rogress  of  this  expedition  between 
the  regulars  and  volunteers.  The  latter,  though  but 
recently  accustomed  to  the  ease  and  comforts  of  smiling 
home,  bore  up  against  fatigue,  hunger  and  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  a  long  and  tedious  march  through  unexplored 
regions  with  a  zeal,  courage  and  devotion  that  would 
have  graced  time-worn  veterans  and  reflected  the  highest 
credit  on  their  conduct  as  soldiers. 

There  was  a  noble  emulation  in  the  conduct  of 
both,  which,  in  no  small  degree,  benefited  the  service, 
at  the  same  time  promoting  that  cordiality  of  inter- 
course which,  in  after  life,  both  in  the  civil  and  the 
military,  made  their  meetings  most  cordial  and  glad- 
some.° 

"Report  of  Gen.  S.  W.  Kearny— Ex.  Doc.  No.  60. 


■5  < 

£  S 

3  a 
us 

o  = 

M  5 

O  ,^ 

t;  ^ 

(S  = 

■a  i: 


-MIMTAUV    OCCCl'ATIOX    OF    NKW     MEXICO.  45 

The  inanner  in  which  the  volunteer  soldiery  of  the 
United  States  condneted  itself  during  the  war  with 
Mexico  was  a  great  demonstration,  at  that  time,  of  the 
leal  military  strength  of  the  country.  Before  that  war, 
I'hiropean  and  other  foreign  powers  had  but  imjierfect 
ideas  of  our  physical  strength  and  our  ability  to  prose- 
cute a  war,  and  particularly  one  waged  beyond  the 
confines  of  the  United  States.  The  foreign  powers  saw 
that,  on  a  peace  footing,  we  only  had  10,000  fighting 
men.  Themselves  accustomed  to  the  maintenance  in 
times  of  peace  of  great  standing  armies,  for  the  pro- 
tection of  thrones  against  their  own  subjects,  as  well 
as  against  foreign  foes,  they  could  not  believe  it  pos- 
sible for  a  nation  without  such  an  army,  well  disci- 
plined and  of  long  service,  to  wage  war  successfully. 
They  held  in  low  repute  our  militia,  and  were  far  from 
regarding  them  as  an  effective  military  force.  The  war 
demonstrated  that,  upon  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities 
not  anticipated,  a  volunteer  army  of  citizen  soldiers, 
equal  to  veteran  troops,  had  been  brought  into  the  field. 

The  First  Missouri  Volunteers,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Doniphan,  made  the  march  to  Santa  Fe  like 
veterans.  In  the  ranks  of  that  regiment  were  soldiers, 
men  of  birth  and  position,  who  afterwards  became  cele- 
brated in  many  of  the  walks  of  civil  life.  Dozens  of 
these  soldiers  who  marched  to  Santa  F^  and  Chihuahua 
could  be  enumerated — men  like  Willard  P.  Hall,  after- 
wards governor  of  the  state  of  Missouri ;  William 
Gilpin,  afterwards  governor  of  Colorado;  Waldo  P. 
Johnson,  Kichard  Hanson  Weightman  and  John  W. 
Reid,  leading  men  in  the  West  after  the  war  had  closed. 

The  regiment  was  composed  indiscriminately  of 
all    professions    and  pursuits  —  of    farmers,    lawyers. 


•iG  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

physicians,  merchants,  manufacturers,  mechanics  and 
laborers — and  this  not  only  among  the  officers,  but  the 
enlisted  men  as  well.  From  their  youth,  the  men  in 
this  regiment  had  been  accustomed  to  the  use  of  fire- 
arms, and  many  of  them  were  expert  marksmen.  They 
were  men  who  had  reputations  to  maintain  at  home 
by  their  good  conduct  in  the  field.  They  were  intelli- 
gent, and  there  was  an  individuality  of  character  in 
the  First  Missouri  Cavalry  found  in  the  ranks  of  few 
armies  which  ever  went  into  battle. 

The  citizen  soldier  of  our  country  finds  no  parallel 
anywhere  in  the  world.  The  civil  war  demonstrated 
this;  the  war  with  Spain  proved  conclusively  that  with 
the  growth  of  the  country  no  change  had  come  over  our 
citizenship  in  the  way  of  fighting  men,  and  all  because 
the  American  citizen  in  battle,  be  he  officer  or  enlisted 
man,  fights  not  only  for  his  country,  but  for  glory  and 
distinction  among  his  fellow  citizens  when  he  shall 
return  to  civil  life,  and,  without  any  reflection  upon 
many  living  distinguished  Americans,  it  may  be  added, 
he  fights  for  office  as  well. 

On  the  2d  day  of  August,  Kearny's  column  left  the 
Arkansas,  jiroceeded  down  the  river  a  short  distance, 
and,  turning  to  the  left,  marched  to  a  point  on  the 
Tim  pas  not  far  from  the  present  station  of  that  name 
on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  F6  Railway.  Three 
days  later  the  army  reached  the  Purgatoire,  near  the 
present  city  of  Trinidad.  Within  the  next  four  days 
the  Raton  Mountains  had  been  crossed,  and,  on  the 
10th.  rjenoral  Kearny  arrived  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Cinianon  River,  and  a  day  later  had  crossed  the  Ocate. 
At  this  time  quite  a  number  of  native  citizens  were  cap- 
tured by  Kearny's  men,  and  ujjon  their  persons  was 


48  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

found  a  proclamation  by  the  prefect  of  Taos,  based 
ui'on  one  already  issued  by  Governor  Arniijo,  calling 
the  citizens  to  arms  to  repel  "the  Americans  who  were 
coming  to  invade  their  soil  and  destroy  their  property 
and  liberties." 

On  the  13th  the  column  halted  at  the  Sapello  River, 
and  the  general  was  advised  by  an  American  gentleman 
named  Spry,  who  had  come  from  Santa  F^,  that  the 
Mexican  forces  were  assembling  at  Apache  Canyon, 
about  fifteen  miles  from  the  city  of  Santa  F^;  that  the 
pass  was  being  fortified,  and  advising  Kearny  to  go 
around  it. 

The  following  day  General  Kearny  received  his 
first  official  message  from  Governor  Armijo,  which  was 
as  follows:  "You  have  notified  me  that  you  intend  to 
take  possession  of  the  country  I  govern.  The  people  of 
the  country  have  risen  en  masse  in  my  defense.  If  you 
take  the  country,  it  will  be  because  you  prove  the 
strongest  in  battle.  I  suggest  to  you  to  stop  at  the 
Sapello  and  I  will  march  to  the  Vegas.  We  will  meet 
and  negotiate  on  the  plains  between  them."  *** 

This  message  was  delivered  by  an  officer  of  lancers, 
accompanied  by  a  sergeant  and  two  privates.  On  the 
l.^)th  the  column  was  joined  by  Major  Swords.  Lieu 
tenant  Gilmer  and  Captain  Weightman,  who  had  come 
from  Ft.  Leavenworth,  bringing  and  presenting  to 
Colonel  Kearny  a  commission  as  brigadier  general  in 
the  army  of  the  United  States.  These  gallant  officers 
had  heard  that  a  battle  was  to  be  fought  the  following 
day  near  Las  Vegas  and  had  ridden  sixty  miles  in  order 
to  particij)ate  in  the  engagement. 


'"Lt.  Emory,  page  25. 


OF    THE    TIORKITOUY    OF    NKW    MEXICO.  49 

KEARXY    ENTERS    LAS    VEGAS   AND    DELIVERS    PROCLAMATION 
TO  THE   PEOPLE. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th,  precisely  at  eighi 
o'clock,  General  Kearny  and  staff  gallojied  into  the 
plaza  of  Las  Vegas,  where  he  was  met  by  the  alcalde, 
Don  Juan  de  Dios  Maes,  and  a  large  concourse  of 
people.  Pointing  to  the  to])  of  an  adobe  building,  one 
story  in  height,  and  located  on  the  north  side  of  the 
plaza,  General  Kearny  suggested  to  the  alcalde  that  if 
he  would  go  to  the  top  of  the  building,  he  and  his  staff 
would  follow,  and  from  that  point,  where  all  could  see 
and  hear,  he  would  speak  to  them,  which  he  did,  as 
follows  •}^ 

"Mr  Alcalde  and  people  of  New  Mexico:  I  have 
come  amongst  you  b}'  the  orders  of  my  government,  to 
take  possession  of  your  country  and  extend  over  it  the 
laws  of  the  United  States.  We  consider  it,  and  have 
done  so  for  some  time,  a  part  of  the  territory  of  the 
United  States.  We  come  amongst  you  as  friends,  not 
as  enemies ;  as  protectors,  not  as  conquerors.  We  come 
among  you  for  your  benefit,  not  for  your  injury." 

"Henceforth  I  absolve  you  from  all  allegiance  to 
the  Mexican  government,  and  from  all  obedience  to 
(Jeneral  Armijo.  He  is  no  longer  your  governor  (great 
sensation  in  the  plaza)  ;  I  am  your  governor.  I  shall 
not  expect  you  to  take  up  arms  and  follow  me  to  fight 
your  own  people  who  may  oppose  me :  but  I  now  tell 
you,  that  those  who  remain  peaceably  at  home,  attend- 
ing to  their  crops,  and  their  herds,  shall  be  protected 
by  me  in  their  property,  their  persons  and  their  re- 
ligion; and  not  a  pepper,  not  an  onion,  shall  be  dis- 
turbed or  taken  by  my  troops  without  jiay.  or  by  the 

^'Lt.  Emory,  page  27. 


50  MIMTAKY    OCCl  TATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

consent  of  the  owner.  But  listen  I  He  who  promises 
to  he  <|uiet  and  is  found  in  arms  ajjainst  me,  I  will 
hanjr." 

''From  the  Mexican  government,  you  have  never 
received  protection.  The  Apaches  and  the  Navajos 
come  down  from  the  mountains  and  carry  off  your 
sheep,  and  even  your  women,  whenever  they  please.  My 
jrovernment  will  correct  all  this.  It  will  keep  off  the 
Indians,  protect  you  in  your  persons  and  property  ;  and. 
I  repeat,  will  protect  you  in  your  religion.  I  know  you 
are  all  great  Catholics:  that  some  of  your  priests  have 
told  you  all  sorts  of  stories;  that  we  would  ill-treat 
your  women  and  brand  them  on  the  cheek,  as  you  do 
your  mules  on  the  hip.  It  is  all  false.  My  government 
resijects  your  religion  as  much  as  the  Protestant  re 
ligion  and  allows  each  man  to  worship  his  Creator  as 
his  heart  tells  him  is  best.  Its  laws  protect  the  Catholic 
as  well  as  the  Protestant;  the  weak  as  well  as  the 
strong,  the  j;oor  as  well  as  the  rich.  I  am  not  a  Catholic 
myself;  I  was  not  brought  up  in  that  faith,  but  at  least 
one  third  of  m\-  army  are  Catholics  and  I  respect  a 
good  Catholic  as  much  as  a  good  Protestant." 

"There  goes  my  army;  you  see  but  a  small  portion 
of  it;  there  are  many  more  behind;  resistance  is  use 
less." 

".Mr.  .Vlcalde,  and  you  two  captains  of  militia!  the 
laws  of  my  country  reipiire  that  all  men  who  hold 
office  under  it  shall  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  I  do 
not  wish  for  the  present,  until  affairs  become  more 
setth'd.  to  disturb  your  form  of  government.  If  you 
are  prepared  to  take  oaths  of  allegiance,  I  shall  con 
tinne  you  in  office  and  support  your  authority." 


;)L'  TIIK    .MILITAUV    OCCITATION 

HevoTul  nil  question  the  alcalde  and  the  two  cap- 
tains did  not  fully  appreciate  the  situation  in  which 
they  found  themselves.  The  captains  did  not  protest, 
but  looked  with  down-cast  eyes  upon  the  earthen  roof 
ujjon  which  they  were  standing.  Noticing  his  attitude, 
(ieneial  Kearny  said  to  one  of  thenij  in  the  hearing  of 
all  the  jjeople:  '^Captain,  look  me  in  the  face,  while 
you  repeat  the  oath  of  office!"  The  oath  was  admin 
isteied,  and  General  Kearny,  attended  by  his  staff, 
descended,  mounted  and  galloped  away  to  the  head  of 
the  column.  The  sun  was  shining  brightly;  for  the  first 
lime  since  leaving  the  Missouri  River,  the  guidons  and 
colors  of  each  squadron,  battalion  and  regiment  were 
unfurled.  The  trumpeters  sounded  '*to  horse"  with 
spirit  and  the  rocky  hills  to  the  west  multiplied  and 
re-echoed  the  call. 

The  army  moved  forward  briskly  to  meet  a  force 
of  six  hundred  Mexicans,  which  it  had  been  said,  was 
in  waiting  at  a  gorge  in  the  hills  about  two  miles 
distant.  The  gorge  was  reached  and  passed,  but  not 
a  soul  was  seen.  One  by  one  the  guidons  were  furled. 
Onward  marched  the  army  to  Tecolote,  thence  to  San 
Miguel,  at  both  of  which  places  General  Kearny  re- 
enacted  the  drama  which  had  occurred  at  Las  Vegas. 

Reports  now  reached  General  Kearny  at  every  step 
Ihat  the  j)eople  were  rising  and  that  General  Armijo 
wiis  concerting  a  formidable  force  to  oppose  him  at  the 
.\pache  Pass,  near  Canyoncito,  about  15  miles  from 
Santa  Fj'*.  The  Army  of  the  West  proceeded  on  its  way, 
over  a  portion  of  the  Santa  F6  Trail  and,  on  the  17th 
of  August,  captured  the  son  of  Damasio  Salazar,  a 
citi/.en  of  San  Miguel,  the  individual  who  had  so  nearly 
accomplished  the  death  of  a  few  members  of  the  Texas 


OF    TIIK    TEKIJITOUY    OF    NKW     iMFXICO,  53 

Santa  F6  Expedition  a  few  years  before,  and  whose 
etfoi'ts  in  that  behalf  were  frustrated  through  the  in- 
fluence of  Don  Gregorio  Vigil,  a  man  of  prominence  in 
that  community. 

THK    I'UEHLO    OF    FECOS;    FLIGUT    OF    (iFXKKAE    AUMI.IO. 

As  the  command  reached  the  ancient  town  of 
Pecos,  about  one  mile  beyond  the  present  station  of 
Rowe,  on  the  line  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa 
¥6  Railway,  the  General  was  notified,  by  a  Mexican 
coming  from  the  direction  of  Glorieta,  that  General 
Armijo  and  his  force  of  two  thousand  men,  which  had 
been  assembled  at  the  Apache  I'ass  to  oppose  the  on- 
ward march  of  the  American  army,  had  quarreled 
among  themselves  and,  that  General  Armijo,  taking 
advantage  of  the  dissension,  with  his  artillery  and 
dragoons,  had  fled  southward. 

It  was  well  known  that  General  Armijo  was  averse 
to  a  conflict,  but  his  life  had  been  threatened  by  some 
of  his  own  people  if  he  refused  to  fight.  He  saw,  how- 
ever, what  they  failed  to  realize,  the  absolute  hopeless- 
ness of  resistance. 

The  ancient  town  of  Pecos,  at  which  this  news 
was  communicated  to  General  Kearny  by  the  Mexican, 
who,  it  was  afterwards  learned,  was  the  alcalde  of 
the  district,  was  once  a  fortified  town.  When  Fran- 
cisco Vasquez  de  Coronado  visited  the  place,  accom- 
panied by  an  army  of  Spanish  soldiers  of  fortune,  in 
search  of  gold  and  conquest,  nearly  three  hundred 
A'ears  before,  the  pueblo  was  known  as  Cicuye  and  was 
a  place  of  great  strength.  It  maintained  a  standing 
army,  and,  within  its  walls,  lived  the  greatest  number 


r)4  .\I  ll.riAItV    Old  TATION    OF    NKW     MKXICO. 

of  iM'ojde  at  tliat  time  inhabiting  any  one  locality 
within  what  is  now  the  United  States." 

llei-e,  within  the  estnfu  of  the  pueblo,  for  cen- 
turies had  burned  the  eternal  tii*es  of  Montezuma,  and 
these  had  ceased  to  be  kept  alive  up  to  a  time  only 
seven  years  prior  to  the  coming  of  General  Kearny. 

The  illustrations  are  taken  from  drawings  made 
by  the  topographical  engineer  who  accompanied  the 
Army  of  the  \N'est,  and  show  the  old  pueblo  and  the 
church  as  they  stood  in  1846.  Today  nothing  is  left 
of  the  pueblo  and  only  a  portion  of  the  walls  of  the 
old  church  is  still  standing.  The  church  was  built 
some  time  in  the  middle  of  the  IGth  century  by  Fr. 
•Juan  de  Padilla,  who  accompanied  the  Coronado  ex- 
pedition, but  remained  at  the  pueblo  after  Coronado 
returned  to  the  City  of  Mexico. 

The  itMunins  of  the  architecture,  as  shown  by  the 
drawings,  which  are  unquestionably  authentic,  exhibit, 
in  a  most  i)rominent  manner,  the  engrafting  of  the 
Catholic  church  upon  the  ancient  religion  of  the  coun- 
try. 

At  one  end  of  the  small  oval  hill,  upon  which 
stood  the  jjueblo,  were  the  remains  of  the  estufa  of 
the  Tndians,  with  all  its  j)arts  distinct;  the  other,  the 
niins  of  the  Catholic  church,  both  showing  the  marks 
:in<l  emblems  of  the  two  religions.  The  fires  from  the 
<'stufa  burned  and  sent  their  incense  through  the  air 
wlieie  the  fire-worshipping  Indian  ])erformed  his  i)agan 
rites,  while  only  a  few  yards  distant  stood  the  church 
from  the  altai-s  of  which  he  listened  to  the  teachings 
nf  Christ. 


'-('astaiuda's   Account    of   Coronado    Expedition — Vol.    14. 
Huifaii  Eth.   Hops. 


General  Manuel  Armijo. 
From  a  Picture  In  the  Possession  of  Don  Luis  Baca,  Socorro,  New  Mexico. 


5«>  THE    MlLITAllY    OCCUPATION 

A  verv  short  period  before  the  coming  of  the 
American  army  tlie  tribe  became  almost  extinct  and 
tlie  few  remaining  went  over  the  mountains  to  the 
Pueblo  of  Jemez,  where,  it  is  said,  a  few  of  their  de- 
scendants are  still  living  and  keep  the  sacred  fires 
from  the  ancient  estufa  of  the  pueblo  of  Cicuye  alive 
and  burning. 

Lieutenant  p]mory,  whose  assistant,  a  Mr,  Stanly, 
made  the  drawings  from  which  the  illustrations  are 
taken,  says:  "The  architecture  of  the  Indian  portion 
of  the  ruins  presents  peculiarities  worthy  of  notice, 
lioth  are  constructed  of  the  same  materials;  the  walls 
of  sun-dried  bricks,  the  rafters  of  well-hewn  timber 
which  never  could  have  been  shaped  by  the  miserable 
little  axes  now  used  by  the  Mexicans,  which  resemble, 
in  shajie  and  size,  the  wedges  used  by  our  farmers  for 
splitting  rails.  The  cornices  and  drops  of  the  archi- 
trave in  the  church  are  elaborately  carved  with  a 
knife."" 

On  the  morning  of  the  18th  of  August  General 
Kearny  had  reached  a  point  29  miles  from  Santa  F6. 
Not  a  hostile  arrow  or  rifle  was  now  between  the  Army 
of  the  West  and  the  ancient  capital  of  New  Mexico. 
The  general  determined  to  make  the  march  in  one  day 
and  raise  the  American  colors  over  the  ancient  palace 
before  sundown.  Fifteen  miles  from  Santa  F«^  the 
column  reached  the  point  deserted  by  General  Armijo. 
It  is  a  gateway,  which,  in  the  hands  of  a  competent  en- 
gineer and  one  hundred  resolute  men,  would  have 
proved  a  second  Thermopylae.  Had  the  position  been 
defended  with  spirit  and  ability,  General  Kearny 
would  have  been   compelled  to  turn  it  by  taking  the 

"Emor>'s  Account,  page  30. 


OF    THE    TliKKITUUY    OF    MOW     MEXICO.  57 

road    i-unniDji:  to   f)jo    do    liaca    (Tow     Sprin<>s)    and 
(lalisteo. 

On  tlie  way  to  Santa  Fe  General  Kearn.v  was  met 
by  the  acting  secretary,  who  brought  a  letter  from 
Vigil,  the  lieutenant  governor,  which  informed  the  gen- 
eral officially  of  the  flight  of  Armijo,  and  of  his  readi- 
ness to  receive  him  in  Santa  F6,  with  the  hospitalities 
of  the  city. 

GENERAL  MANUEL  AllMIJO. 

General  Armijo  was  not  unlike  others  of  his  na- 
tion and  time.  He  was  not  to  the  purple  born  and  was 
of  low  extraction.  He  tinally  managed  to  obtain  a 
foothold  in  the  official  circles  at  Santa  Fe  and  was 
made  collector  of  customs.  Later  he  became  governor, 
and  again,  after  the  murder  of  Governor  Perez,  was 
made  governor  of  the  state.  He  was  essentially  a  cruel 
man,  not  only  to  foreigners,  but  to  his  own  })eople. 
He  undoubtedly  entertained  the  same  ideas  of  the 
American  occupation  and  the  causes  for  the  war  with 
Mexico  as  other  state  executives  and  military  com- 
manders of  the  Mexican  Republic. 

At  the  Cit}'  of  Mexico,  and,  in  all  the  newspapers 
of  the  Republic,  great  attempts  had  been  made  to  ex- 
asperate the  minds  of  the  people  against  the  Amer- 
icans. The  war  was  represented  to  be  one  for  national 
existence,  and  that  it  was  the  wish  of  the  United 
States  to  destroy  the  Mexican  nation.  It  was  declared 
to  be  a  war  of  rapine  and  plunder,  many  generals,  in 
their  proclamations  to  the  people  and  to  the  soldiery, 
declaring  that  the  United  States  intended  to  oppress 
them,  to  rob  their  churches  and  desecrate  their  altars. 
General  Armijo  knew  the  falsity  of  these  accusations 
and  the  injustice  and  absurdity  of  such  imputations; 


'.'^' 


,.^J^ 


"  '!^-'^^  ^r»^  .^. .  y!Zi^  .uib/r^  ^^,„  /C,-/^ 


j^'^A  fry- A  -/-^~-~^~^ 

^.„^/.      ^^  ya^y^^  ^  ^  ^3a^  /^^  X>y      i_ 


•  -^Kv 


Fac-simile  of  First  Page  of  Proclamation  of  Governor  Armijo.  August  8,  1846. 


erjt0,iiM.. 


a(k  -^Jm^rlUt^ 


Last  Page  of  Proclamation  of  Governor  Armijo,  August  8,  1846. 


(»(»  TlIK     MILITARY    OCCITATION 

ncvcitlieloss  these  stateineuts  were  systematically 
jnopajjated  thiougliout  the  country  and  found  many 
believers  in  localities  wliere  ignorance  was  great  and 
the  means  of  truth  circulation  small. 

General  Armijo  had  been  most  active  in  his  en- 
deavors to  rouse  the  people  and  had  made  statements 
which  were  very  effective  in  some  localities.  He  was 
very  much  concerned  personally,  knowing  as  he  did, 
the  power  of  the  advancing  army,  and  lost  no  oppor- 
tunity to  bring  to  bear  every  pressure  possible  in  the 
raising  of  a  force  sufficient  to  repel  the  American  ad- 
vance. 

ARMIJO'S   PROCLAMATION. 

Before  General  Kearny  had  entered  Mexican  ter- 
ritory Armijo  knew  of  the  coming  of  the  Army  of  the 
West,  and  Kearny's  proclamation,  made  at  Bent's 
Fort,  had  also  reached  him.  Armijo  had  received  from 
St.  Louis.  Mo.,  a  large  amount  of  ammunition  and  sup- 
plies, which  had  been  brought  to  Santa  F^  in  a  cara- 
van from  Tndejjcndence.  Armijo  issued  a  proclama- 
tion to  his  people,  the  exact  language  of  which  has 
only  lately  come  to  light.    In  this  it  was  proclaimed:^* 

'The  Governor  and  Commanding  General  of  New 
Mexico  to  its  Inhabitants: — 

Fellow  Countrymen: — At  last  the  moment  has  ar- 
rived when  our  country  requires  of  her  children  a  de- 
cision without  limit,  a  sacrifice  without  reserve,  under 
circumstances  which  claim  all  for  our  salvation. 

Questions  with  the  United  States  of  America 
which  have  been  treated  with  dignity  and  decorum  by 
the  supreme  magistrate  of  the  Republi<',  remain  unde- 

'Vifiil  I'apors — New  Mexico  Historical  Society — Santa 
Vo.  X.   M. 


OF    TIIK    TKUKITOKV    OF    XHW     .MKXICO,  61 

termined  as  claimed  as  nniiuostioiiahle  rij^Iits  of  Mex- 
ico over  tlie  nsui-ped  Territory  of  Texas,  and  on  ac- 
count of  this  it  lias  been  impossible  to  assume  diplo 
matic  relations  with  the  oovernment  of  North  Amer- 
ica, whose  minister  extraordinary  has  not  been  le- 
ceived ;  but  the  forces  of  that  government  are  ad- 
vancing? in  this  department;  they  have  crossed  the 
northern  frontier  and  at  present  are  near  the  Colorado 
river. 

TTear,  then,  fellow  citizens  and  countrymen,  the 
signal  of  alarm  which  must  prepare  us  for  battle! 

The  eagle  that  made  us  equal  under  our  national 
standard,  making  of  us  one  family,  calls  upon  you  to- 
day, in  the  name  of  the  supreme  government  and  un- 
der the  Chief  of  the  Department,  to  defend  the  strong- 
est and  most  sacred  of  all  causes.  Then  you  knew 
how,  by  your  noble  efforts  and  heroic  patriotism,  with 
out  foreign  help,  to  maintain  the  independence  of  our 
nation. 

Today  that  sacred  indeiiendence,  the  fruit  of  so 
many  and  costly  sacrifices,  is  threatened,  for  if  we  are 
not  capable  of  maintaining  the  integrity  of  our  terri- 
tory, it  will  all  soon  be  the  prey  of  the  avarice  and 
enterprise  of  our  neighbors  from  the  north,  and  noth- 
ing will  remain  but  a  sad  recollection  of  our  political 
existence. 

But  thanks  be  to  the  Almighty,  it  Avill  not  be  sol 
The  Mexicans  of  today  are  the  same  as  those  of  1810. 
who,  although  divided  and  without  a  country,  subdued 
the  power  and  pride  of  a  foreign  nation. 

With  the  army  and  people  united  in  defense  of 
our  threatened    independence,   our   outraged   national 


(52  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

lionor  and  tho  rights  of  our  vilified  country,  they  form 
an  invincible  union. 

Fellow  citizens  and  countrymen,  united  with  the 
regular  army,  you  will  strengthen  the  sentiments  of 
loyalty  aniong  your  defenders.  Now  to  the  call !  Let 
us  be  comrades  in  arms  and,  with  honest  union,  we 
shall  lead  to  victor^'. 

Remember  that  the  author  and  conserver  of  so- 
ciety inscribed  in  the  golden  book  the  following  truth 
ful  words:  "A  country  divided  within  itself  shall  be 
destroyed."  Do  not  permit  these  words  to  escape  you; 
do  not  separate  your  personal  interests  from  the  com- 
mon cause,  and,  with  union,  resources,  public  spirit 
and  true  patriotism,  I  assure  you  that  the  Mexican  Re- 
public will  command  the  respect  of  its  enemies  and 
will  demonstrate  to  the  civilized  world  that  she  is  en- 
titled to  be  numbered  among  the  free  and  enlightened 
nations  of  the  earth. 

We  are  fortunate  to  have  at  the  head  of  our  su 
preme  government  an  illustrious,  honorable  and  pa- 
triotic general,  who  in  the  past  has  sustained  with  dig- 
nity and  energy  the  sacred  rights  of  our  country;  one 
who  will  lead  us  to  a  glorious  victory.  Let  us  now  be 
prepared  for  the  coming  conflict  which  is  forced  upon 
us.  Let  us  not  belittle  the  power  of  our  enemy  nor 
the  size  of  the  obstacles  we  must  surmount. 

The  God  of  Armies  is  also  the  protector  of  the  jus 
lice  of  nations  and,  with  his  powerful  help,  we  will  add 
another  brilliant  page  to  the  history  of  Mexico,  and 
demonstrate  to  the  world,  if  possible,  for  impossibili- 
ties are  not  expected,  that  our  beloved  country  is  en 
titled  to  1)0  known  as  a  free  and  independent  republic. 
Relative  to  the  defense  of  this  department  on  accouni 


OF    TIIK    TEIIIUTOUV    OF    XKW     MIOXICO.  G3 

of  tills  invasion,  your  <>()V('rnor  depends  entirely  upon 
your  own  pecuniary  resources,  your  deterniination, 
your  convictions,  all  founded  in  reason,  justice,  equity 
and  public  convenience.  Rest  assured  that  your  gov 
ernor  is  willing  and  ready  to  sacrifice  his  life  and  ali 
his  interests  in  the  defense  of  his  country.  This  you 
will  see  demonstrated  by  your  chief,  fellow-country- 
man and  friend, 

MANUEL  ARMIJO  (Rubric.) 
Santa  Fe,  Saturday,  the  Sth  day  of  August,  1846. 

The  American  general,  under  the  instructions  from 
his  government,  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  counter- 
acting the  injurious  imputations,  and,  in  the  light  of 
the  orders  issued  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  Hon.  W.  L. 
Marcy,  we  clearly  see  why  it  was  that  General  Kearny 
felt  called  upon  to  make  the  remarks  made  at  Las 
Vegas  and  at  other  points  between  that  place  and  th'^ 
Capital."  The  War  Department  did  not  furnish  Gen- 
eral Kearny  with  a  proclamation,  printed  in  the  Span- 
ish language,  such  as  was  given  to  General  Zachary 
Taylor,  but  a  few  co})ies  of  the  one  sent  to  General 
Taylor  were  sent  to  General  Kearny,  and  he  was  re 
quested  not  to  use  them.'"  The  Republic  of  Mexico,  at 
that  time,  was  in  a  most  deplorable  condition  in  its 
administration  of  civil  and  military  affairs.  This  con 
dition  had  existed  and  continued,  more  or  less,  ever 
since  the  defeat  of  Santa  Ana  at  San  Jacinto.  In 
December,  18-45,  General  Herrera  resigned  the  Presi- 
dency and  yielded  up  the  government  to  General  Pare- 
des  without  a  struggle.    Thus  a  revolution  was  accom- 


"■Ex.  Doc.  No.  60,  page  155. 

^'■■Ex.  Doc.  No.  60,  W.    L.    Marcy    to    Col.    S.    W.    Kearny, 
page  168. 


04  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCII'ATION 

plislied  solely  by  the  anny  commanded  by  Paredes. 
and  the  supreme  power  in  Mexico  passed  into  tlie 
hands  of  a  military  dictator  and  usurper  who  was  bit- 
terly liostile  to  the  United  States. 

In  the  month  of  August,  just  at  the  time  when 
Kearny  arrived  in  New  Mexico,  the  government  ol 
Ta redes  was  overthrown  and  General  Santa  Ana,  who 
had  been  in  Havana  since  1844,  an  exile  from  his  coun- 
try, returned.  Revolution  followed  revolution.  The 
country  was  divided  into  races,  classes  and  parties, 
and  with  so  many  local  divisions  among  departments 
and  personal  divisions  among  individuals,  it  is  no 
wonder  that,  in  many  portions  of  Mexico,  the  people 
were  not  in  harmony  witii  the  powers  that  attempted 
lo  rule  the  country.  The  men  of  Spanish  blood  monop 
olized  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  country  and  the 
mixed  Indian  races  bore  its  burdens. 

Some  of  the  military  chieftains  desired  a  mon- 
archical form  of  government,  notably  Paredes,  and 
desired  to  place  a  European  prince  upon  a  throne  in 
Mexico.  Naturally  there  was  jealousy  and  animosity 
between  them.  It  was  the  policy  of  General  Kearny, 
and  of  every  other  American  general  commanding  an 
army  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  to  reach  the  interests, 
passions  or  principles  of  some  one  of  the  parties,  there- 
by <onciliating  their  good  will  and  securing  active  co- 
ojtcration  in  bringing  about  a  speedy  and  honoi-able 
l»('ace.  Policy  and  force  were  combined  and  the  fruits 
(»f  the  former  were  prized  as  highly  as  those  of  the 
latter.  The  inhabitants  were  encouraged  to  remain  in 
their  towns  and  villages.  They  were  continued  in  of 
tire.  Kind  and  liberal  treatment  was  accorded  tliem 
and  thev  were  made  to  l»elieve  that  the  American  army 


OF    TIIIO    TKKUITOKY    OF    MOW     MKXICO.  65 

had  come  as  a  deliverer  from  oppressive  dictatorship 
of  military  governors.  Kigiits  of  person  and  pro])erty 
were  carefully  guarded,  resj)€cted  and  sustained,  and 
the  troops  were  restrained  from  every  act  of  license 
or  outrage. 

GFNEUAL  KEAUNy's  FIUST  I'UOCLAM ATIOX. 

On  the  31st  day  of  July,  prior  to  his  departure 
from  the  Arkansas  river,  CJeneral  Kearny  issued  a 
proclamation,  which  soon  reached  the  hands  of  Gen- 
eral Armijo.  In  this  he  declared  that  his  entry  into 
New  Mexico  with  a  large  military  force  was  for  the 
purpose  of  seeking  union  with  and  ameliorating  the 
condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico.  That  his 
coming  was  b}'  order  of  the  American  government  and 
that  he  would  be  amply  sustained  in  his  efforts.  The 
people  were  enjoined  to  remain  quietly  at  home  in 
the  pursuit  of  their  peaceful  occupations  and  that  in 
this  they  would  not  be  interfered  with,  but  would  be 
respected  and  protected  in  their  civil  and  religious 
rights,  but  admonishing  all  that  those  who  took  up 
arms  or  encouraged  resistance  against  his  government 
would  be  regarded  as  enemies  and  treated  accord- 
ingly." 

The  fact  that  during  the  entire  march  from  the 
Arkansas  to  Las  Vegas,  not  one  act  of  oppression  had 
been  committed  by  Kearny's  command  doubtless  had 
found  itsw^ay  into  the  hearts  of  the  people  who  had  been 
ruled  with  the  sword  of  tyranny.  But  General  Armijo 
is  not  to  be  too  severely  criticised  for  his  official  acts. 
These  speak  for  themselves.  With  his  personal  char- 
acter it  is  unnecessary  to  deal.  His  authority  came 
from  the  City  of  Mexico,  a  capital  so  remote  that  presi- 


"Ex.  Doc.  No.  60,  No.  12,  page  168. 


MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  67 

dent  miji^lit  succeed  president,  the  jjovernment  itself 
might  be  overturned,  and  the  news  not  reach  Santa  F^ 
for  several  months.  He  was  governor  of  the  province 
furthermost  north  in  the  Republic.  In  his  oflficial 
conduct,  he  probably  knew  his  people  better  than  some 
of  his  critics.  His  acts  as  governor  and  commanding 
general  were  no  different  than  those  of  other  military 
chieftains  and  governors  in  his  nation. 

When  he  assembled  his  army  at  the  Apache  Pass 
and  the  dissensions  arose  between  his  oflScers  and  men, 
no  doubt  already  the  diplomatic  leaven  used  by  General 
Kearny  in  his  several  addresses,  together  with  his  acts 
and  deeds  of  kindness,  as  well  as  the  well  known 
strength  of  the  American  army,  had  produced  the  effect 
desired,  and  Armijo,  too  well  appreciating  the  final 
outcome,  used  this  situation  as  an  excuse  and  fled 
southward,  accompanied  by  a  personal  body-guard  of 
one  hundred  dragoons,  not  knowing  that  at  the  very 
moment  of  his  flight,  a  substantial  force  under  Colonel 
Ugarte  Avas  on  its  way  up  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Bravo 
to  assist  him  in  the  defense  of  his  country  and  its 
citizens. 

GENERAL    ARMIJO    AND    THE    TEXAS-SANTA    PE    EXPEDITION. 

In  judging  General  Armijo's  policies  and  official 
acts,  small  attention  should  be  given  to  the  treatment 
received  by  the  Texans  at  his  hands  at  the  time  of  the 
Texas-Santa  Fe  Expedition,  which  had  traveled  across 
the  plains  of  Texas  under  the  pretense  of  establishing 
commercial  relations  with  New  Mexico.  Theirs  was 
something  beside  a  commercial  invasion.  ^^TJnder  the 
circumstances,  Governor  Armijo  is  not  to  be  severely 


^'Kendall's    Texas-Santa    Fe    Expedition,    Vol.     1,    pages 
14-15. 


MILITARY    OCCITATIOX    OF    NKW     MKXU'O.  69 

blamed  for  his  official  conduct.  When  this  expedition 
was  organized  it  was  given  out  officially,  by  General 
Mirabeau  B.  Lamar,  then  president  of  the  Republic  of 
Texas,  that  the  expedition  was  commercial  in  its  inten- 
tions, the  object  being  to  open  a  direct  trade  with 
Santa  F6  by  a  route  known  to  be  much  shorter  than  the 
old  Santa  F6  Trail  from  the  Missouri  River.  The  di- 
version of  this  trade,  at  that  time  very  considerable, 
was  undoubtedly  the  primary  and  ostensible  object,  but 
General  Lamar's  ulterior  motive,  the  bringing  of  so 
much  of  the  province  of  New  Mexico  as  lies  upon  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Rio  Grande  under  the  protection  of 
his  government,  was  not  generalh-  known  until  after 
the  exj^edition  had  left  Austin  and  was  far  on  its  way 
to  Santa  F^.  General  Lamar  had  been  led  to  believe 
that  nine-tenths  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  ^lexico  were 
discontented  under  the  Mexican  yoke  and  anxious  to 
come  under  the  protection  of  the  Lone  Star  Republic. 
In  fact  he  had  received  assurances  from  Texans,  living 
in  Santa  F^,  that  such  was  the  popular  feeling,  and  that 
the  people  would  hail  the  coming  of  the  expedition  with 
joy.  Governor  Armijo  may  have  been  regarded  as  ex- 
tremely cruel  toward  these  invaders,  carrying  arms  into 
a  country  from  which  only  a  short  time  before  it  had 
achieved  its  independence,  but  it  was  but  natural  that 
Armijo  should  so  regard  them,  particularly  when  it 
was  well  known  that  Texas  was  claiming  as  its  western 
boundary,  the  Rio  Grande,  a  contention  which  Mexico 
was  resisting  with  all  its  power  and  diplomacy.  A 
]>arallel  case  in  more  recent  times  is  that  of  Dr.  Jame- 
son and  his  raiders  in  South  Africa. 


'    .  /  I-  / 

—It.  >w«  ^  "t^      rhmi  /Mw  ^»»  M*-  id,   MMv,  i/  ^      ^ 


^^^     </<»••*&.  <>«**•  '^tf  flUI^^    /rr  '/'jiw,  .^^.  ^    ^*"'         Ml. 

«.,     SoWi^  *  ■'  ■■■'■    *'^^''^^'^'^i»'.<nu„iu,,nm*<t.(yi^Lms.,- 

*^  '/—•  r^^  tir '*-  ^  ^'  ---  --  :^  'v-'  ■^- 

'^^.»     ^>55«fc,        ^^-•i*.-^-'^;— .'^^/^•/'A-^.i^      #/^~«i-.W^X 


Fac  _.;....-  ^:  First  Page  of  Proclamation  of  General  Kearny,  Augruat  19,  1846. 


Last  Page  of  Proclamation  of  General  Kearny,  August  19,  1846. 


ii:  TIIK    MILITAUY    OCCUI'ATIOX 

IN    SIGHT   OF    SANTA    FE. 

The  advance  of  the  Amorican  column  arrived  in 
sight  of  the  City  of  Santa  F6  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  18tli  of  August,  1846;  bv  six  o'clock 
the  entire  army  was  in  the  capital.  The  general  and 
his  statf.  and  other  officers  of  the  army,  were  received 
at  the  old  palace  by  Lieutenant  Governor  Vigil,  assisted 
by  about  thirty  representative  citizens  of  the  city. 
Refreshments  were  ordered  served  by  Governor  Vigil 
and  as  the  sun  sank  behind  the  far  distant  Jemez  and 
Valles  Mountains,  painting  the  clouds  which  over- 
hung the  lofty  ranges  with  a  glorious  combination  of 
saffron,  opal,  jmrple  and  golden  color,  the  flag  of  our 
country  was  hoisted  over  the  ancient  palace  and  a 
salute  of  thirteen  guns  from  cannon  planted  on  the 
eminence,  afterwards  known  as  Ft.  Marcy,  declared  the 
concpiest  of  New  ^fexico  complete. 

There,  in  the  Old  Palace,  sat  the  American  general 
and  his  principal  officers,  the  guests,  enforced  it  is  true, 
but  still  welcome,  of  all  that  was  left  of  the  men  who 
had  derived  authority  from  the  Mexican  Republic; 
seated  in  a  building,  which,  in  historic  interest,  sur- 
passes any  other  within  the  confines  of  the  United 
States;  built  in  the  first  years  of  the  17th  century,  and, 
down  through  all  the  succeeding  years,  until  188(5. 
whether  the  country  was  under  Spanish.  Pueblo,  Mexi- 
can or  American  control,  it  remained  the  seat  of 
authority;  whether  the  ruler  was  called  viceroy,  cap- 
tain-general, j)o]itical  chief,  department  commander  or 
governor  and  whether  he  ])resided  over  a  kingdom,  a 
province  or  a  territory,  the  Gld  Palace  has  been  his 
official    residence."*     Thoughts    of    the    most    j)leasant 

'Frinre's   Historv  of  Npw  Mexico. 


OF    THE    TEUUITOKY    OF    MOW     MEXICO.  73 

character  filled  the  minds  of  both  officers  and  men ;  the 
former  being  entertained  in  varions  places  in  the  citj', 
at  the  houses  of  the  most  prominent  people,  the  men 
mixing  with  the  jjopnlace  in  the  varions  resorts  and 
bailies  of  the  city. 

On  the  following  morning  General  Kearn}'  ad- 
dressed nearly  all  of  the  i)eople  of  Santa  F^,  assembled 
in  the  plaza  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  him,  saving: 

"New  ^Mexicans : — We  have  come  amongst  you  to 
take  possession  of  New  Mexico,  which  we  do  in  the 
name  of  the  government  of  the  United  States.  We 
have  come  with  peaceable  intentions  and  kind  feelings 
toward  you  all.  We  come  as  friends,  to  better  your 
condition  and  make  you  a  part  of  the  Republic  of  the 
United  States.  We  mean  not  to  murder  you  or  rob  you 
of  your  property.  Your  families  shall  be  free  from 
molestation ;  your  women  secure  from  violence.  My 
soldiers  shall  take  nothing  from  you  but  what  they  pay 
for.  In  taking  possession  of  New  Mexico,  we  do  not 
mean  to  take  away  from  you  your  religion.  Religion 
and  government  have  no  connection  in  our  country. 
There,  all  religions  are  equal ;  one  has  no  preference 
over  the  other;  the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant  are 
esteemed  alike.  Every  man  has  a  right  to  serve  God 
according  to  his  heart.  When  a  man  dies  he  must 
render  to  God  an  account  of  his  acts  here  on  earth, 
whether  they  be  good  or  bad.  In  our  government,  all 
men  are  equal.  We  esteem  the  most  peaceable  man, 
the  best  man.  I  advise  you  to  attend  to  your  domestic 
pursuits,  cultivate  industry,  be  peaceable  and  obedient 
to  the  laws.  Do  not  resort  to  violent  means  to  correct 
abuses.  I  do  hereby  proclaim  that,  being  in  possession 
of  Santa  ¥6,  I  am  therefore  virtually  in  possession  of 


74  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

all  New  Mexico.  Annijo  is  no  longer  yonr  governor. 
His  power  is  departed;. but  he  will  return  and  be  as 
one  of  you.  When  he  shall  return  you  are  not  to  molest 
him.  You  are  no  longer  Mexican  subjects;  you  are 
now  become  American  citizens,  subject  only  to  the  laws 
of  the  United  States.  A  change  of  government  has 
taken  place  in  New  Mexico  and  you  no  longer  owe  al- 
legiance to  the  Mexican  government.  I  do  hereby 
proclaim  my  intention  to  establish  in  this  Department 
a  civil  government,  on  a  republican  basis,  similar  to 
those  of  our  own  states.  It  is  my  intention,  also,  to 
continue  in  oflSce  those  by  whom  you  have  been  gov- 
erned, except  the  governor,  and  such  other  persons  as 
I  shall  appoint  to  office  by  virtue  of  the  authority  vested 
in  me.  I  am  your  governor — henceforth  look  to  me  for 
protection."^" 

Immediately  upon  the  delivery  of  the  proclamation 
by  General  Kearny  a  response  was  made  by  Juan 
Rautista  Vigil  y  Alarid,  which  is  fairly  expressive  of 
the  opinions  entertained  by  a  large  number  of  the  rep 
resentative  and  influential  citizens  of  the  territory. 
Vigil  was  the  official  left  in  charge  by  Governor  Armijo 
and  his  address  is  given  here  for  the  first  time  :-^ 

"General : — The  address  which  you  have  just  de- 
livered, in  which  you  announce  that  you  have  taken 
possession  of  this  great  country  in  the  name  of  the 
T'nited  FHates  of  America,  gives  us  some  idea  of  the 
wonderful  future  that  awaits  us.  It  is  not  for  us  to 
determine  the  boundaries  of  nations.  The  cabinets  of 
Mexico  and  Washington  will  arrange  these  differences. 
It  is  for  us  to  obey  and  respect  the  established  author- 
ities, no  matter  what  may  be  our  private  opinions. 

"Lt.  Emory's  Account,  page  6. 

"Vigil  Papers.  N.  M.  Historical  Society. 


OF    THE    TEUUITOKY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  75 

The  inhabitants  of  this  Department  ^liumbly  and 
honorably  present  their  loyalty  and  allegiance  to  the 
government  of  North  America.  No  one  in  this  world 
can  successfully  resist  the  power  of  him  who  is 
stronger. 

Do  not  find  it  strange  if  there  has  been  no  manifes- 
tation of  joy  and  enthusiasm  in  seeing  this  city  occu- 
pied by  your  military  forces.  To  us  the  power  of  the 
Mexican  Republic  is  dead.  No  matter  what  her  con- 
dition, she  was  our  mother.  What  child  will  not  shed 
abundant  tears  at  the  tomb  of  his  parents?  I  might 
indicate  some  of  the  causes  for  her  misfortunes,  but 
domestic  troubles  should  not  be  made  public.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  civil  war  is  the  cursed  source  of 
that  deadly  poison  which  has  spread  over  one  of  the 
grandest  and  greatest  countries  that  has  ever  been 
created.  To-day  we  belong  to  a  great  and  powerful 
nation.  Its  flag,  with  its  stars  and  stripes,  covers  the 
horizon  of  New  Mexico,  and  its  brilliant  light  shall 
grow  like  good  seed  well  cultivated.  We  are  cognizant 
of  your  kindness,  of  your  courtesy  and  that  of  your 
accommodating  officers  and  of  the  strict  discipline  of 
your  troops;  we  know  that  we  belong  to  the  Republic 
that  owes  it  origin  to  the  immortal  Washington,  whom 
all  civilized  nations  admire  and  respect.  How  different 
would  be  our  situation  had  we  been  invaded  by  Euro- 
pean nations !  We  are  aware  of  the  unfortunate  condi- 
tion of  the  Poles. 

In  the  name,   then,   of   the  entire  Department.   I 
swear  obedience  to  the  Northern  Republic  and  I  tender 
my  respect  to  its  laws  and  authority. 
JUAN  BAUTISTA  VIGIL  y  ALARID  (Rubric) 

Governor." 

Santa  F6,  August  19,  1846. 


MMpN—imi  IIP*  ta  P 


^^^    ^W5    ^-r^^    .A4!^.i^,  ^  \^ 


i^     .  W5<^  *r  mmM'  ^ 


tt^u 


^ '  rM^:>»\i.    ^Um/  Zr^  <f^   *0^^^  j^  /M^^^,n  .     '/X  ^ 

^      IfOt^^MO/   'fi^^**     t*^      /f^OJtUr,   ^ujLi^^,   ^^^^'^/^ 


Fac-simile  of  Acceptance  of  Allegiance  by  Juan  Bauptista  Vigil  y  Alarid,  Acting 
OoTernor,  August  19,  1846. 


%'/IM^       y    */^/^"*^»-     ^f'f^r^    <**^*»w«  ^y^^  /^/;^>/'^*4^ii.^      ^ 


J^l"/ 


/ 


dJe^y4r      u-     'TuMM^>^    ^U^       /'^  r 


yfu:ya^  '^/^.^^l^-^'^^/^'^^ 


-"''^''iiirtfWLi  «  '■■ 


«|>ip«^>: 


Last  Page  of  Acceptance  of  Allegiance  of  Juan  Bauptista  Vigil  y  Alarid,  Acting 
Governor,  August  19,  1840. 


78  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

The  following  day  the  principal  chiefs  of  several 
tribes  of  Pueblo  Indians  presented  themselves  at  the 
palace  and  gave  in  their  submission  and  expressed 
great  satisfaction  over  the  arrival  of  the  American 
forces.  Their  interview  was  long  and  very  interesting 
and,  as  stated  by  Lieutenant  Emory ,^^  they  narrated 
what  is  a  tradition  with  them,  that  the  white  man 
would  come  from  the  far  east  and  release  them  from 
the  bonds  and  shackles  which  the  Spaniards  had  im- 
I)Osed,  not  in  the  name  of,  but  in  a  worse  form  than 
slavery. 

The  same  night  a  message  was  received  from 
General  Armijo,  asking  on  what  terms  he  would  be 
received ;  but  this  proved  to  be  only  a  ruse  on  his  part 
to  gain  time  in  his  flight  to  the  south.  From  trust- 
worthy accounts,  Armijo's  force,  at  the  Canyon,  was 
about  four  thousand  men,  tolerably  well  armed,  and  six 
I)ieces  of  artillery.  Had  he  been  possessed  of  the 
slightest  qualifications  as  a  general,  it  was  possible  for 
him  to  have  given  the  American  forces  a  great  deal  of 
trouble.  During  the  week  various  deputations  came  to 
the  capital  to  see  General  Kearny,  some  of  them  from 
Taos,  all  giving  in  their  allegiance  and  asking  protec- 
tion from  the  Indians.^^ 

KEARNY'S   SANTA   Fb'  PROCLAMATION. 

On  the  22nd  day  of  August,  184G,  General  Kearny 
issued  a  proclamation  which  produced  a  most  salu- 
tary effect  upon  the  people.  In  this  document  he 
says :" 

''As,  by  the  act  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  a  state 
of  war  exists  between  that  government  and  the  United 


"Lt.  Emory's  Account,  page  6. 
"Ex.  Doc.  No.  60,  pages  170-171. 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  79 

States;  and  as  the  undersigned,  at  tlie  head  of  his 
troops,  on  tlie  18th  instant,  took  possession  of  Santa 
F<^,  the  capital  of  the  department  of  New  Mexico,  he 
now  announces  his  intention  to  hold  the  department, 
with  its  original  boundaries  (on  both  sides  of  the  Del 
Nortej  as  a  part  of  the  United  States,  under  the  name 
of  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico." 

'"The  undersigned  has  come  to  New  Mexico  with  a 
strong  military  force,  and  an  equally  strong  one  is 
following  him  in  his  rear.  He  has  more  troops  than  is 
necessary  to  put  down  any  opposition  that  can  pos- 
sibly be  brought  against  him,  and  therefore  it  would 
be  but  folly  or  madness  for  any  dissatisfied  or  discon- 
tented persons  to  think  of  resisting  him." 

"The  undersigned  has  instructions  from  his  gov- 
ernment to  respect  the  religious  institutions  of  New 
Mexico,  to  protect  the  property  of  the  church,  to  cause 
the  worship  of  those  belonging  to  it  to  be  undisturbed, 
and  their  religious  rights  in  the  amplest  manner  pre- 
served to  them ;  also  to  protect  the  persons  and  prop- 
erty of  all  quiet  and  peaceable  inhabitants  within  its 
boundaries  against  their  enemies  the  Eutaws,  the  Nav- 
ajos  and  others;  and  when  he  assures  all  that  it  will 
be  his  pleasure,  as  well  as  his  duty,  to  comply  with 
those  instructions,  he  calls  upon  them  to  exert  them- 
selves in  preserving  order,  in  promoting  concord,  and 
in  maintaining  the  authority  and  efficacy  of  the  laws. 
And  he  requires  of  those  who  have  left  their  homes 
and  taken  up  arms  against  the  troops  of  the  United 
States,  to  return  forthwith  to  them,  or  else  they  will 
be  considered  as  enemies  and  traitors,  subjecting  their 
persons  to  punishment  and  their  property  to  seizure 
and  confiscation  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  treasury." 


80  MILITAKY    OCCUPATION'    OF    NEW    MKXICO. 

'*It  is  the  wish  and  intention  of  the  United  States 
to  provide  for  New  Mexico  a  free  government,  with  the 
least  possible  delay,  similar  to  those  in  the  United 
States;  and  the  i)eople  of  New  Mexico  will  then  be 
called  on  to  exercise  the  rights  of  freemen  in  electing 
their  own  representatives  to  the  territorial  legislature. 
But.  until  this  can  be  done,  the  laws  hitherto  in  force 
will  be  continued  until  changed  or  modified  by  compe- 
tent authority;  and  those  persons  holding  office  will 
continue  in  the  same  for  the  present,  provided  they 
will  consider  themselves  good  citizens  and  are  willing 
to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States." 

'The  United  States  hereby  absolves  all  persons  re- 
siding within  the  boundaries  of  New  Mexico  from  any 
further  allegiance  to  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  and  here- 
by claims  them  as  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Those 
who  remain  quiet  and  peaceable  will  be  considered 
good  citizens  and  receive  protection — those  who  are 
found  in  arms,  or  instigating  others  against  the  United 
States,  will  be  considered  traitors  and  treated  accord- 
ingly." 

"Don  Manuel  Armijo,  the  late  governor  of  this 
dcfiartment,  has  fled  from  it;  the  undersigned  has 
taken  possession  of  it  without  firing  a  gun.  or  sjiilling 
a  single  drop  of  blood,  in  which  he  most  truly  rejoices, 
and  for  the  present  will  be  considered  as  governor  of 
the  territory." 

''Given  at  Santa  F6,  the  capital  of  the  Territory 
of  Now  Mexico,  this  22nd  day  of  August,  1846,  and  in 
the  71st  year  of  the  independence  of  the  Ignited 
States."  S.  W.  KEARNY, 

Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  Army." 
"By  the  Tlovcrnor: 

•Tuan  liiiutista  Vigil  y  .\larid." 


TLANOF    gATvtTAr^    AND    ITS    ENVIRONS 


82  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

On  the  same  day  General  Kearny  wrote  to  Briga- 
dier General  Wool,  at  Chihuahua,  Mexico,  saying  that 
'•everything  is  quiet  and  peaceable.  The  people  now 
understand  the  advantages  they  are  to  derive  from  a 
change  of  government  and  are  much  gratified  with  it." 

On  the  2nd  day  of  September,  General  Kearny 
and  a  portion  of  his  command,  consisting  of  a  battery 
of  eight  pieces  and  one  hundred  artillerymen,  a  bat- 
talion of  one  hundred  dragoons,  under  Captain  Burg- 
win,  and  five  hundred  mounted  volunteers,  marched 
south  to  the  valley  of  the  Kio  Grande,  moving  by  way 
of  Agua  Fria,  five  miles  from  Santa  F^,  thence  to  the 
Galisteo  river,  and,  following  this  stream  to  its  junc- 
tion with  the  Rio  Grande  where  the  Pueblo  of  Santo 
Domingo  now  stands.  His  command  numbered  seven 
hundred  and  twenty-five.  The  general  and  his  oflBcers 
were  hospitably  entertained  by  the  principales  of  the 
pueblo  and  were  entertained  at  the  residence  of  the 
priest,"  The  general  was  shown  into  the  priest's  parlor 
which  was  tapestried  with  curtains  stamped  with  like- 
nesses of  all  the  presidents  of  the  United  States  up  to 
the  time  of  President  Polk.  The  cushions  were  of  spot- 
less damask  and  the  couch  was  covered  with  a  white 
Navajo  blanket  worked  in  richly  colored  flowers. 

The  air  was  redolent  with  the  perfumes  of  grapes 
and  melons  and  every  crack  of  door  and  window  glis- 
tening with  the  bright  eyes  and  arms  of  the  women  of 
the  capilla.  Tlie  old  priest  was  busily  talking  in  the 
corner,  and  little  did  he  know  of  the  game  of  sighs  and 
signs  carried  on  between  the  young  fellows  and  the 
fair  inmates  of  his  house.  The  gayest  array  of  young 
rnon  in  the  command  were  out  and  the  women  seemed 

■*]A.  Emory's  Account,  page  7. 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  83 

to  those  present  to  drop  their  usual  subdued  look  and 
timid  wave  of  the  eyelash  for  good  hearty  twinkles 
and  signs  of  unaffected  and  cordial  welcome,  signs 
supplying  the  place  of  conversation,  as  neither  party 
could  speak  the  language  of  the  other." 

A  fine  repast  was  served  by  the  priest,  and  after- 
wards, standing  in  front  of  the  portal,  General  Kearny 
delivered  a  speech  to  the  assembled  Indians  which  was 
first  interpreted  into  Spanish  and  then  into  Pueblo. 
The  command  then  proceeded  down  the  valley,  stopping 
at  the  principal  Indian  villages  and  Mexican  towns  and 
arriving  at  Tom^,  in  the  county  of  Valencia,  on  the  7th 
of  September,  and  thereafter  returning  to  Santa  F^, 
arriving  on  the  eleventh  of  the  month. 

General  Kearny,  having  occasion  to  transfer  some 
public  property  into  the  hands  of  a  public  functionary, 
took  up  a  bit  of  blank  paper  and  commenced  writing, 
when  the  Alcalde,  who  happened  to  be  present,  re- 
marked to  the  general  that  an  instrument  of  writing 
was  not  legal,  unless  it  was  drawn  upon  paper  stamped 
with  the  government  seal  or  coat-of-arms,  for  the  State 
of  New  Mexico.  He  then  stepped  out  and  brought  a  few 
sheets  of  the  government  paper  to  General  Kearny, 
politely  observing  ''that  the  government  sold  it  at  only 
eight  dollars  per  sheet,  a  very  moderate  sum  to  pay  for 
having  an  important  document  strictly  legal."  With 
out  ceremony,  General  Kearny  changed  his  purpose  for 
the  moment,  and  wrote,  in  substance,  as  follows :  "The 
use  of  the  'stamp  paper'  by  the  government  of  New 
Mexico,  is  hereby  abolished.    Done  by  the  Governor, 

S.  W.  KEARNY,  Brig.  Gen." 


*Lt.  Emory's  Account,  page  7. 


84  MILITARY    OCCri'ATlUN    OK    MOW    MKXICO. 

"I  will  now,"  continued  he,  ''take  it  at  its  real  value, 
just  as  other  paper."  The  Alcalde  was  astonished,  for 
his  prospects  of  further  extortion  were  blasted.  The 
common  peojile  who  had  been  compelled  to  pay  the  ex- 
orbitant sum  of  eight  dollars  for  a  sheet  of  paper,  when 
an  instrument  of  writing  was  wanted  which  required 
a  seal,  rejoiced  that  they  were  now  relieved  of  so 
burdensome  a  tax. 

On  the  22d  of  September,  General  Kearny,  claim- 
ing to  have  autliori ty  to  do  so,  made  appointments  of 
territorial  officials  as  follows:  Charles  Bent,  governor; 
Donaciano  Vigil,  secretary;  Richard  Dallam,  marshal; 
Francis  P.  lilair,  Jr.,  United  States  Attorney;  Charles 
Blumner,  treasurer;  Eugene  Leitensdorfer,  auditor, 
and  Joab  Houghton,  Antonio  Jose  Otero  and  Charles 
Beaubien,  judges  of  the  superior  court.^" 

KEARNY    CODE    PROMULGATED. 

On  the  same  day  General  Kearny  promulgated  the 
laws  which  he  had  prepared  for  the  government  of  the 
territory.  In  his  letter  to  the  Adjutant  General  of  the 
Army,  transmitting  a  copy  of  these  laws,  General 
Kearny  says : 

"I  take  great  pleasure  in  stating  that  I  am  en- 
tirely indebted  for  these  laws  to  Colonel  A.  \V. 
Doniphan,  of  the  1st  Regiment  of  Missouri  Mounted 
\'olunteers,  who  received  much  assistance  from  private 
Willard  I*.  Hall,  of  his  regiment.  These  laws  are  taken. 
I)art  from  the  laws  of  Mexico,  retained  as  in  the 
original — a  part  with  such  modifications  as  our  laws 
and  constitution  made  necessary;  a  part  are  from  the 
laws  of  Missouri  Territory;  a  part  from  the  laws  of 
Texas    and    Coahuila,    a    part    from    the    statutes    of 


•'Ex.    Doc.    No.    60,    page    22.    page  176. 


Charles  Bent,  First  Governor  of  New  Mexico. 


86  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

Missouri ;  and  the  remainder  from  the  Livingston 
Code;  the  organic  law  is  taken  from  the  organic  law  of 
Missouri  Territory." 

This  letter,  together  with  the  copy  of  the  laws  and 
the  list  of  General  Kearny's  appointees,  was  received 
at  Washington,  November  23d,  following. 

GENERAL  KEARNY  LEAVES  FOR  CALIFORNIA. 

On  the  24th  of  September,  1846,  general  orders 
were  issued  designating  the  force  to  accompany  Kearny 
on  his  march  to  California.  It  consisted  of  three 
hundred  United  States  1st  Dragoons,  under  Major 
Sumner,  who  were  to  be  followed  by  the  battalion  of 
Mormons,  five  hundred  in  number,  commanded  by 
Captain  Cooke. 

Colonel  Doniphan's  regiment  was  to  remain  in  New 
Mexico  until  relieved  by  Colonel  Price's  regiment, 
which  was  daily  expected  to  reach  Santa  F6  from  the 
United  States,  when  the  1st  Missouri  Mounted  Cavalry, 
under  Doniphan,  was  directed  to  join  General  Wool,  at 
Chihuahua.  The  two  batteries  of  artillery  were  di- 
vided; one  company.  Captain  Fisher's,  to  be  left  in 
New  Mexico;  the  other.  Captain  Weightman's,  to 
accompany  Colonel  Doniphan.  The  battalion  of  in- 
fantry, under  Captain  Angney,  was  directed  to  remain 
in  Santa  F(^.  Thus  was  the  Army  of  the  West  divided 
into  three  columns,  to  operate  in  regions  remote  from 
each  other  and  never  again  to  be  united  in  one  body.^^ 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th,  the  column  was  ready 
for  its  long  march  to  the  Coast,  and,  at  two  in  the 
afternoon,  left  Santa  F6  and  reached  Albuquerque  on 
the  2fHli,  at  which  i)lace  the  Rio  Grande  was  crossed; 
thence  the  vallev   was   followed   to   the  Jornado  del 


*Lt.  Emory's  Account. 


OF    THE    TKRIUTORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  87 

IVrnerto  and  thereafter,  across  the  plains  into  the  valley 
of  the  Kio  Minibres,  from  which  localit}"  Kearny  pro- 
ceeded westward  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  reaching  San 
Diego  in  December. 

The  conquest  of  New  Mexico  was  complete; 
achieved  without  the  loss  of  a  man  or  the  firing  of  a 
gun,  the  work  was  finished.  Kearny  and  Doniphan, 
going  out  from  the  then  western  border  of  civilization, 
marching  upwards  of  a  thousand  miles  through  lands 
overrun  with  hostile  Indians,  making  a  circuit  equal 
to  a  fourth  of  the  circumference  of  the  globe,  providing 
for  the  army  as  they  went,  returned  with  trophies 
taken  from  fields  the  names  of  which  were  unknown  to 
themselves'"'  and  their  country.  History  has  but  few 
such  expeditions  to  record.  ''New  Mexico,  itself  so 
distant  and  so  lately  the  Ultima  Thule,  the  outside 
boundary  of  speculation  and  enterprise,  so  lately  a 
distant  point  to  be  obtained,  became  itself  a  point  of 
departure  for  new  and  far  more  extended  expeditions." 

The  fruits  of  this  great  expedition,  coupled  with 
the  great  successes  of  the  naval  and  military  forces  of 
the  United  States  operating  simultaneously  on  the 
coast  of  California,  time  has  shown  to  have  been  in- 
estimable in  value  to  our  country.  New  Mexico  and 
California,  conquered  but  afterwards  ceded  by  Mexico 
to  the  United  States,  an  area  of  territory  embracing 
nearly  ten  degrees  of  latitude,  lying  adjacent  to  Oregon 
and  extending  from  the  Pacific  Coast  to  the  Rio  Bravo, 
gave  an  empire  to  the  United  States  and  its  acquisition 
was  second  only  in  importance  to  the  purchase  from 
Napoleon,  of  Louisiana,  in  1803.  Gold  had  not  been 
discovered  in  California ;  the  great  copper  mines  of  the 


"Hon.  Thomas  H.  Benton— address,  July  2d,  1847. 


i-r/;L 


rui  /^o.«i>t<>mu.  /cVyy/.vyy^ 


/  — ■• — ^ 


^/:£:. 


Fac-iimile  of  Page  of  Stamped  Paper,  the  Use  of  Which  Was  Aboliahed  by 
General  Kearny. 


MILITAUY    OCtTl'ATION    OF    MOW     .MHXICO.  89 

})resent  territory  of  Arizona  liad  not  been  dreamed  of 
by  men  of  Anglo-Saxon  blood,  and  tbe  immense  agri- 
cultural and  horticultural  resources  of  the  golden  state, 
not  to  mention  those  of  the  territories  of  New  Mexico 
and  Arizona,  had  not  been  given  the  slightest  thought 
by  the  statesmen  of  that  day.  The  possession  of  the 
ports  of  San  Diego,  Monterey  and  San  Francisco  im- 
mediately enabled  the  United  States  to  command  the 
commerce  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  at  that  time,  in  the 
whaling  business  alone,  the  capital  invested  exceeded 
forty  millions  of  dollars.  To-day  the  assessed  valuation 
of  property  in  some  of  the  cities  of  California  exceeds 
by  many  millions  of  dollars  the  entire  cost  of  the  war 
with  Mexico;  a  single  copper  mine  in  the  Territory  of 
Arizona  has  produced  copper  bullion  of  greater  value, 
in  dollars,  than  the  total  amount  of  the  national  debt 
of  our  country  after  the  war  with  Mexico  was  over,  and 
the  value  of  the  coal  and  coke  already  jiroduced  in  the 
coal  regions  of  New  Mexico  and  Southern  Colorado,  at 
the  time  of  the  occupation,  a  part  of  New  Mexico,  ex- 
ceeds the  cost  of  all  that  portion  of  the  United  States 
embraced  within  the  Louisiana  Purchase  and  the  terri 
tory  acquired  by  the  annexation  of  the  Republic  of 
Texas,  as  well  as  that  secured  under  the  terms  of  the 
Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo. 

Kearny's  actions  partly  disapproved  at  Washington. 
Exactly  four  months  after  General  Kearny  had 
established  a  civil  form  of  government  in  New  Mexico 
and  named  the  otficials  of  the  Territory,  President 
Polk,  in  answer  to  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  asking  for  all  documents  containing  any 
orders  or  instructions  to  any  military,  naval  or  other 
officer  of  the  government  in  relation  to  the  establish- 


MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  91 

inent  or  organization  of  civil  government  in  any  por- 
tion of  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico,  which  has  or 
might  be  taken  possession  of  by  the  Army  or  Navy  of 
the  United  States,  said : — "Among  the  documents  ac- 
companying the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  will 
be  found  a  "form  of  government"  "established  and 
organized"  by  the  military  commander  who  conquered 
and  occupied  with  his  forces  the  Territory  of  New 
Mexico.  This  document  Avas  received  at  the  War  De- 
partment in  the  latter  part  of  last  month,  and,  as  will 
be  perceived  by  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  was 
not,  for  the  reasons  stated  by  that  officer,  brought  to 
my  notice  until  after  my  annual  message  of  the  8th 
instant  was  communicated  to  congress." 

"It  is  declared  on  its  face  to  be  a  temporary  gov- 
ernment of  the  said  territory,"  but  there  are  portions 
of  it  which  purport  to  "establish  and  organize"  a  per- 
manent Territorial  government  of  the  United  States 
over  the  Territory  and  to  impart  to  its  inhabitants 
political  rights,  which,  under  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  can  be  enjoyed  permanently  only  by 
citizens  of  the  United  States.  These  have  not  been 
"approved  and  recognized"  by  me.  Such  organized 
regulations  as  have  been  established  in  any  of  the  con- 
quered territories  for  the  security  of  our  conquest,  for 
the  preservation  of  order,  for  the  protection  of  the 
rights  of  the  inhabitants,  and  for  depriving  the  enemy 
of  the  advantages  of  these  territories  while  the  military 
possession  of  them  by  the  forces  of  the  United  States 
continues,  will  be  recognized  and  approved.^^ 

"It  will  be  apparent  from  the  reports  of  the  officers 
who   have    been    required    by    the    success   which    has 


'Message  of  President  Polk,  Dec.  22(i,  1846. 


MILITAHY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  93 

crowned  their  arms  to  exercise  the  powers  of  temporary 
government  over  tlie  conquered  territories,  that,  if  any 
excess  of  power  has  been  exercised,  the  departure  has 
been  the  offspring  of  a  patriotic  desire  to  give  to  the 
inhabitants  the  privileges  and  immunities  so  cherished 
by  the  people  of  our  own  country,  and  which  they  be- 
lieved calculated  to  improve  their  condition  and  pro- 
mote their  prosperity.  An}-  such  excess  has  resulted  in 
practically  no  injury,  but  can  and  will  be  early  cor- 
rected in  a  manner  to  alienate  as  little  as  possible  the 
good  feelings  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  conquered 
territory." 


LEYES 


LAWS 


para 
El    Gobierno    oel    Tcrkitorio    db 
NLEyO   MEJtCO 


for 

THB  GOVERNMENTOF  THE  TERRITORT  OF 

NEW  MEXICO. 


TEST  AM  EN  FA  R  I  A  S. 

SeccioN  I  Las  leyes  basta  ahora 
vigentea  relstivia  6  herencias,  rcpar 
tiniienld!!,  ulii  nas  voluntaded  y  testa 
Bientos  segua  eitan  contenidas  en  el 
traudo  sobre  estas  m  itenas  escrito 
pOT  Pedro  M  irilla  dc  Lara,  qucdarAn 
»igentes  en  todo  lo  qae  sou  cooforaies 
con  la  constitucion  de  los  Estados 
U»i  los  y  esialutos  tambien  vigentes 

2  Los  Prefeciosconccderan  letras 
creidenciale*  para  tetiaiiienluriaa  y 
pari)  AbintestatuB 

3  La  latras  para  tcstnmcntanas 
y  Aliintestatos  ser^n  conccdidaa  en 
el  condado  en  qii  el  ho^ar  6  lugar 
dc  rfsidencia  del  difunto  cstiibierc  ii- 
bicado.  Si  no  tenia  hogar  6  lu^ar  de 
ri-sidencia  nl  tifmoo  dc  an  niuerte  y 
poseycra  tier  as  la*  leiras  creden. 
dales  9C  conce  icran  eii  el- condado  en 
que  esiubiercn  las  tierraa  6  parte  de 
•  Has.  Si  el  d'f  intf>  no  tenia  ho£;ar  6 
lugar  de  residencia  y  no  poseia  tier- 
ras,  las  letras  ji  jflran  concederse  en 
tl  condado  en  que  m  ir-o  6  donde  etn 
Ticren  U  raayor  parte  dc  sus  bienes.  Hi 


ADMINISTRATIONS. 

Section  1  The  laws  Aeretotore  in 
force  crjiicerning  desccuts,  diatribu> 
tiona,  willd  and  testannents,  an  coo* 
tained  m  th?  treatise  on  these  sub* 
JRCts  tc  iiten  by  Pedro  Munllo  De 
Lorde,  shall  remain  in  force  ao  far 
at)  tAey  are  in  cunfoniiKy  toitti  {hi 
Constitution  of  tAe  United  Slates  aud 
The  State  laws  id  force  for  the  time 
being. 

2  The  prefects  »hall  grant  lettera 
testamentary  aad  of  adntiut't/ration 

3  Lettera  testameiitxry  an  lof  ad 
ministration  shall  be  granted  in  (he 
county  in  w/nch  the  mansion  house 
or  place  of  abode  of  the  deceased  is 
situated.  If  he  had  no  nian:iion  house 
or  place  of  abode  al  the  iime  of,  hif 
death,  and  be  possessed  of  lands,  let- 
ters shall  be  granted  in  the  county  in 
which  the  iatiis  or  a  pnrt  thereof  lies. 

If  the  deceased  liad  no  miusion 
house  or  place  of  abode,  und  fws  not 
possessed  of  lands,  letters  may  be 
granted  in  thi^  county  in  which  he 
died  or  where  the  i^'rcaior  part  o(  his 


Page  of  Kearny  Code. 


CHAPTER  III. 

1.  The  March  to  Chihuahua.  2.  Doniphan  Ordered  Against  the 
Navajos.  3.  Treaty  with  the  Navajos.  4.  Doniphan  Pro- 
ceeds Down  Valley  of  Rio  Grande.  5.  Battle  of  Brazito. 
6.  Doniphan  Occupies  El  Paso.  7.  Marches  on  Chihuahua. 
8.  Battle  of  Sacramento.  9.  Occupation  of  Chihuahua. 
10.  Departure  of  Army  for  Saltillo.  11.  Return  to  the 
United  States. 

When  General  Kearny  left  Santa  F6  for  Califor- 
nia the  foniiuand  of  the  forces  remaining  in  New  Mex- 
ico was  turned  over  to  Colonel  Doniphan.  Two  days 
after  the  departure  of  Kearny,  Colonel  Sterling  Price, 
accompanied  by  his  staff,  arrived  in  the  city  in  ad- 
vance of  his  command.  Colonel  Price's  troops  arrived 
a  few  days  later  and  consisted  of  1,200  mounted  volun- 
teers from  Missouri  and  a  Mormon  battalion  of  500 
infantry,  which  had  been  organized  at  Council  Bluffs. 
These  troops  marched  across  the  plains  in  fifty-three 
days.  Santa  F^  was  now  a  great  military  camp,  the 
aggregate  elfective  force  of  the  army  at  the  time  being 
in  the  neighborhood  of  three  thousand  five  hundred 
men. 

Great  preparations  Avere  made  for  the  campaign 
to  be  commenced  b}'  Colonel  Doniphan,  his  objective 
point  being  Chihuahua,  where  it  was  supposed  he 
would  be  able  to  join  with  General  Wool,  who  had 
been  ordered  there  by  the  President,  operating  under 
orders  from  General  Zachary  Taylor,  at  that  time  com- 
manding the  army  of  occupation  in  Mexico,  and  under 
whose  leadership  the  battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca 
de  la  Palma  had  been  fought  on  the  8th  and  9th  days 
of  May  previous. 


!)(i  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MKXICO. 

When  Colonel  Donijdian  had  completed  all  his 
arranjjeinenfs  for  the  campaign  to  the  south,  advices 
were  received  by  him,  in  the  nature  of  a  special  order 
ficMii  (leneial  Kearny,  who  had  reached  La  Joya.  a 
point  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  a  short  distance 
altove  the  present  citj^  of  Socorro,  directing  him,  prior 
to  his  march  against  Chihuahua,  to  undertake  a  cam 
|taign  against  the  Navajo  Indians,  who  had  been  raid- 
ing the  valley  in  the  neighborhood  of  Polvodera.  With 
(Hit  a  moment's  delay,  everything  being  in  readiness. 
Colonel  Doniphan  began  the  work. 

CAMPAIGN    AGAINST    THE     NAVAJO    INDIANS. 

Colonel  l*rice  was  left  in  command  at  Santa  F^, 
and  on  the  2(>th  day  of  October,  having  divided  his 
force  into  two  parts,  at  the  head  of  one  Doniphan  pro 
ceeded  to  Albuquerque,  thence  to  the  Rio  Puerco,  fol- 
lowing that  sti-eam  to  its  headwaters.  Major  Gilpin 
was  placed  in  command  of  a  forte  of  two  hundred  men, 
marched  up  the  valley  of  the  Chama  from  Abiquiu, 
crossed  the  Continental  Divide  and  proceeded  down 
the  San  Juan  river  to  the  valley  of  the  Little  Colorado. 
Captain  John  W.  Reid,  with  thirty  men,  led  an  ex- 
pedition into  the  heart  of  the  Navajo  country,  which 
was  of  a  most  daring  and  brilliant  kind.  The  whole 
country  was  traversed  and  the  Navajos  finally  assem- 
bled at  Ojo  del  Oso  (Bear  Spring),  where  a  treaty 
was  signed,  after  a  campaign  lasting  only  six  weeks, 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  which  the  command  returned 
to  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  reaching  Socorro  on 
the  12th  day  of  December,  184G. 

Thus  early  in  the  history  of  American  rule  of  New 
.Nb'xico.  the  army  of  the  United  States,  traversing  the 
Grcjit   I'lains,   the  heroes   of  a  bloodless  conquest   of 


General  A.  W.  Doniphan  at  Sever.ty. 


98  MIMTAKY    OCCI  TATION    OF    NKW     MKXICO, 

Now  Mexico,  hocaino  tlio  chamin'ons  and  in'otectors  of 
a  people  uot  yet  citizens  of  the  United  States.  In  ne- 
^otiatinjj  with  the  Navajos,  Colonel  Donij»han  outlined 
the  i)Uiposes  of  the  American  j^overnnient  in  taking 
possession  of  New  Mexico.  He  was  answered  by  Sar- 
cilla  Largo,  a  yiMing  chief,  an  Indian  of  ])r()niinence 
and  ability  in  his  tribe,  who  said  that  he  was  gratified 
to  learn  the  views  of  the  American  general.  It  was  ex- 
plained to  the  Indians  that  the  United  States  had 
taken  military  possession  of  the  country;  that  the  laws 
of  the  United  States  were  now  in  force  and  that  all 
citizens  would  be  j>rote<ted  against  violence,  invasion 
and  depredation;  that  the  government  was  also  anx- 
ious to  enter  into  a  treaty  of  jieace  with  the  Navajos; 
that  the  same  protection  would  be  given  to  them  ;  that 
the  I'nited  States  claimed  everything  by  right  of  con- 
(piest  and  that  the  ^lexicans  and  Indians  were  now 
e(iually  citizens  of  his  country. 

Sarcilla  Largo  i-eplied :  "Americans  I  You  have  a 
strange  case  of  war  against  the  Navajos.  AVe  have 
waged  war  against  the  New  Mexicans  for  many  years. 
We  have  plundered  their  villages,  killed  many  of  their 
I)eoj)le  and  have  taken  many  jirisoneis.  Our  cause  was 
just.  You  have  lately  ((unmenced  a  war  against  the 
same  people.  You  are  powerful.  You  have  great  guns 
and  many  brave  soldiers.  You  have  therefore  con 
(picred  them,  the  very  thing  we  have  Ikmmi  attempting 
to  do  for  many  yeais.  You  now  turn  upon  us  for  at- 
tempting to  do  what  you  have  done  yourselves.  We 
cannot  see  why  you  have  cause  to  (juarrel  with  us  for 
tight ing  the  New  Mexicans  on  the  \Yest,  while  you  do 
the  same  thing  <»n  i\w  Hast.  Look  how  matters  standi 
This  is  oui-  war.     We  have  more  right  to  complain  of 


r. 


'^^^^r^7^-i^    ^^^'"X'C.^^.  y 


Ili'priiit  from   Hnjrlics'  Ddiiiphaii  Kxpfditimi. 


100  MILITARY    OCCLTATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

you  for  intorfering  in  our  war  than  you  have  to  quar- 
rel with  us  for  continuing  a  war  we  had  begun  long 
before  you  got  here.  If  you  will  act  justly  you  will 
allow  us  to  settle  our  own  differences." 

It  was  then  explained  that  the  New  Mexicans  had 
surrendered  and  were  no  longer  bearing  arms  against 
the  American  forces.  The  Indians  were  informed  that 
according  to  the  usages  of  civilized  warfare,  when  a 
man  surrendeivd  he  was  treated  thereafter  in  a 
friendly  manner.  That,  by  right  of  conquest,  all  of 
New  Mexico  and  all  the  inhabitants  had  become  a  part 
of  the  United  States;  that,  if  the  Navajos  continued 
to  steal  from  the  New  Mexicans,  they  were  stealing 
from  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  that,  when 
they  killed  them,  they  were  killing  our  own  people. 
That  the  American  government  had  guaranteed  pro- 
tection to  the  New  Mexicans  from  whatever  source 
they  should  be  threatened,  and  that  no  further  war- 
fare against  them  on  the  j)art  of  the  Navajos  would 
be  tolerated. 

It  was  finally  agreed  to  execute  the  treaty,  the 
Navajo  chief  declaring  that  New  Mexico,  being  in  the 
possession  of  the  American  army,  and  it  being  The  in- 
tention to  hold  it,  all  depredations  by  his  tribe  would 
cease  and  that  thereafter  they  would  refrain  from 
making  war  upon  our  i)eople.  "We  have  no  (piarrel 
with  you,"  said  Sarcilla.  "and  want  no  war  svilh  so 
great  a  nation.    Let  there  be  peace  between  us." 

The  entire  column  commanded  by  Doniphan  was 
concontrated  near  Socorro,  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio 
(Irande.  and  on  I)eceml)er  14th  began  its  march  down 
the  Rio  Bravo,  a  wonderful  undertaking,  an  expedition 
which  made  the  name  of  Doniphan  a  household  word 


Colonel  Doniphan  Treating  With  the  Navajo  Indians. 
Sarcillii   Lai-Rn:      "Wo  can  not  see  why  you  have  cause  to  quan-el   with  us  for 
fighting  the  New  Mexicans  on  tlie  west,  while  you  do  the  same  thing  on  the  east." 


102  .MILITAUY    Ot'Cll'ATION    OF    NKW    MKXICO. 

in  the  (lieat  West  and  raised  him  to  that  pinnacle  of 
^Un-y  whicli  gave  a  great  American  poet  an  inspiration, 
a  comparison  with  the  deeds  and  march  of  Xenophon 
and  the  Retreat  of  the  Ten  Thousand.-'- 

After  crossing  the  Jornado  del  Muerto  (journey 
of  death),  Colonel  Doniphan  and  command  entered 
the  Mesilla  A'alley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and,  a  few  miles 
south  of  the  present  town  of  Las  Cruces,  cami)ed  at 
what  is  known  as  the  Brazito,  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  river,  in  a  level,  bottom  prairie,  partially  covered 
with  mes(iuite  and  cottonwood  undergrowth. 

BATTLE   OF  BRAZITO.  DECEMBER  25,   1846. 

While  the  men  were  scattered  in  quest  of  wood 
and  water  for  cooking  purjjoses,  for  fresh  grass  for  the 
animals,  and  while  the  wagon  trains  and  teamsters 
were  scattered  along  the  road  for  miles  in  the  rear,  a 
great  cloud  of  dust  was  observed  to  the  southward, 
and  shortly  it  was  announced  by  men  scouting  in  the 
advance  that  the  enemy  was  approaching.  Every  man 
flew  to  his  i)ost ;  assembly  was  sounded ;  the  men, 
dashing  down  their  loads  of  wood  and  buckets  of 
water,  came  running  from  all  directions,  seized  their 
arms  and  fell  into  line  under  whatever  flag  was  most 
convenient;  those  in  the  rear  fell  into  line,  under  the 
nearest  standards,  as  fast  as  they  came  up. 

Hy  this  time  the  Mexican  (leneral  had  drawn  up 
his  forces  in  front  and  on  the  right  and  left  flanks  of 
honiphan's  lines.  His  force  was  about  one  thousand 
three  hundred  men.  regulars  and  volunteers,  cavalry 
and  infantry  and  four  pieces  of  artillery.  They  ex- 
liibit<M]  a  most  gallant  and   imj)()8ing  appearance,  for 


'William  Cullen  Bryant. 


MILITARY    OCCirATIOX    OF    MOW     .MHXICO.  105 

the  di'af];oons  wero  (li'(>sso(l  in  a  nniforni  of  blue  pan- 
taloons, green  coats,  ti-inmied  with  scaiMet  and  wearing; 
tall  caps,  i)lated  in  front  with  brass,  on  the  to])s  of 
which  waved  i)lumes  of  horsehair. 

Before  the  battle  commenced  and  while  the  two 
armies  stood  marshaled  front  to  front,  the  Mexican 
commander,  General  Ponce  De  T^on,  despatched  a 
lieutenant  to  Colonel  Doniphan,  bearing  a  black  flag. 
The  messenger,  coming  with  the  speed  of  lightning, 
halted  when  within  sixty  yards  of  the  American  line 
and  waved  his  ensign  gracefully  in  salutation.  Colonel 
Doniphan  advanced  toward  him  a  short  distance,  ac- 
companied by  an  interpreter,  and  asked  his  demands. 
The  response  was  a  demand  from  the  Mexican  General 
that  the  American  commander  appear  before  him. 
Doniphan  rei)]ied :  "If  your  General  desires  peace,  let 
him  come  here,"  when  the  messenger  cried  out :  ''Then 
we  will  break  your  ranks  and  take  him  there."  "Come 
then  and  take  him,"  cried  Doniphan,  and  immediately 
the  battle  began. ^'^ 

"Dios  y  Libertad,"  shouted  the  Mexican  com- 
mander, and  in  a  whirlwind  of  sand  and  dust  the  cav- 
alry came  thundering  on.  Through  the  rising  clouds  of 
dust  the  bright  lances  and  sabres  glittered  in  the  sheen 
of  the  sun :  the  Vera  Cruz  dragoons  were  leading  and 
charged  on  Doniphan's  left.  Xot  until  within  a  few 
yards  did  the  Americans  open  fire.  The  shrill  voice 
of  Doni])han  could  be  heard  above  the  cries  of  the 
Mexicans  and  the  fire  of  the  yagermen.  The  execution 
was  deadly ;  his  line  was  broken.  At  this  moment 
Cai)tain  Reid,  with  only  sixteen  mounted  men,  the 
balance  on  foot,  charged  tlte  enemv,  broke  through  his 


'Hughes'  Doniphan's  Expedition,  pages  264  and  265. 


MILITAUY    OCCLTATION    OF    XKW    .MKXICO.  107 

ranks,  hewed  tlieni  to  ])ie('es  witli  tlieir  sabres  and 
threw  them  into  complete  confusion.  Hand  to  liand 
conflicts  were  everywhere  in  evidence.  The  Mexican 
General  had  his  horse  killed  under  him  and  was 
wounded  in  a  sabre  duel  with  one  of  Reid's  troopers. 
The  Chihuahua  infantrv  and  cavalry  charged  Doni- 
phan's right.  They  were  met  with  a  galling  fire  at 
sixty  i)aces  and,  wheeling,  Hed  in  great  confusion.  The 
consternation  became  general  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy 
and  they  commenced  a  retreat.  The  Mexican  loss 
was  seventy-one  killed,  five  prisoners  and  not  less  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  wounded,  among  whom  was  the 
commanding  general,  Ponce  De  Leon.  The  American 
loss  was  none  killed  and  eight  wounded. 

By  this  defeat  the  Mexican  army  was  completely 
disorganized  and  dispersed.  Their  volunteers  returned 
with  the  utmost  expedition  to  their  respective  homes, 
while  the  regulars,  under  Ponce  De  Leon,  continued 
their  fiiglit  to  Chihuahua.  This  was  the  only  battle 
fought  by  Doniphan's  command  on  what  is  now  Amer- 
ican soil. 

On  the  following  morning  Doniphan  moved  south- 
ward, and,  on  the  28th,  occupied  El  Paso,  which  sur- 
rendered without  a  struggle.  Here  he  remained  for 
about  six  weeks  awaiting  the  arrival  from  Santa  F6 
of  the  artillery  under  Major  Clark  and  Captain 
Weightman.  These  re-enforcements  arrived  on  the  1st 
of  P'ebruary,  1847,  and  consisted  of  one  hundred  and 
seventeen  men  and  six  ])ieces  of  cannon.  On  the  8th 
the  entire  army  began  its  advance  upon  the  City  of 
Chihuahua.  The  men  were  buoyant  with  hope,  ex- 
pecting a  harvest  of  undying  fame  and  looking  for 
victorv   or  death   on   the   field   of   battle.     This   little 


i 


MILITARY    OCCI'I'ATIOX    OF    MOW    MEXICO.  109 

army,  only  a  handful  of  volunteers,  essayed  to  conquer 
the  greatest  city  in  Northern  Mexico,  defended  by  reg- 
ulars and  volunteers  from  the  entire  state  of  Chihua- 
hua and  the  neighboring  state  of  Durango.  The  march 
led  through  sandy  plains;  the  water  was  bad  and 
scarce  and  everything  physically  was  a  menace  to  the 
success  of  the  enterprise.  The  capture  of  Chihuahua 
had  been  deemed  of  the  greatest  importance  by  the 
American  government,  so  much  so  that  General  Wool, 
with  3,500  men  and  a  heavy  park  of  artillery  had  been 
directed  thither  for  its  subjugation.  Colonel  Doniphan 
was  only  too  well  aware  of  the  dangers  that  con- 
fronted him,  but  he  had  been  ordered  to  report  to 
General  Wool  and,  brave  frontiersman  that  he  was, 
had  no  idea  of  remaining  at  El  Paso  waiting  for  re- 
enforcements;  no  doubt  was  in  his  mind  as  to  his 
ability  to  defeat  the  enemy  and  capture  the  city,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  both  the  great  states  of 
Chihuahua  and  Durango  were  in  arms  to  oppose  his 
advance. 

On  the  28th,  near  the  City  of  Chihuahua,  the 
American  army  came  in  sight  of  the  enemy  encamped 
at  a  place  called  Sacramento.  All  day  long  an  im- 
mense eagle,  sometimes  soaring  aloft  and  sometimes 
swooping  down  amongst  the  fluttering  banners,  fol- 
lowed the  lines  of  march  and  seemed  to  herald  the 
news  of  victor^-.  Like  the  Romans  of  old,  the  men  re- 
garded the  omen  as  good. 

The  enemy  had  occupied  the  brow  of  a  rocky  emi- 
nence rising  upon  a  mesa  between  the  Sacramento 
river  and  the  Arroyo  Seco.  The  approaches  were  for- 
tified by  a  line  of  field  works  consisting  of  twenty- 
eight  strong  redoubts  and  intrenchments.     This  pass 


Cannon  Capturea  ny  uoionei  uonipnan  at  Battle  01  Sacramento,  Now  in  State 
House  Grounds,  Jefferson  City,  Missouri. 


MILITAUY    (X'Cl TATIOX    OF    MOW     MKXICO.  Ill 

was  the  kcv  to  the  capital — tho  far-famed  Cit.v  of 
Chihnalma,  the  Mecca  of  the  merchants  of  the  Santa 
Fe  Trail.  Thus  fortified  and  intrenched,  the  Mexican 
army,  consistin<>-,  accordin<;'  to  a  consolidated  report 
of  the  adjutant  <;eneral,  which  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Doniphan  after  the  battle,  of  fonr  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty  men,  commanded  bv  Major  General 
Heredia,  aided  by  (General  Conde,  formerly  Minister 
of  >Var  of  Mexico,  as  commander  of  cavalry;  General 
Ujjarte,  in  command  of  the  infantry,  and  General 
Trias,  commandino-  the  artillery,  awaited  the  approach 
of  the  American  army.^* 

As  the  American  volunteers  advanced  nothing  could 
exceed  in  point  of  solenuiity  and  grandeur  the  rumbling 
of  the  artillery,  the  firm  moving  of  the  caravan,  the 
dashing  to  and  fro  of  horsemen,  the  fluttering  banners 
and  guidons  waving  defiance  to  the  enemy.  The  Mex- 
icans began  the  engagement  with  a  cavalry  charge,  led 
by  General  Conde.  Down  the  fortified  heights  he 
charged,  Avith  sabres  flying,  leading  twelve  hundred 
men,  a  magnificent  sight,  the  glistening  brass  upon 
their  accoutrement  shining  with  the  flash  of  a  thou- 
sand sabres.  This  force  Avas  greater  than  Doniphan's 
entire  command,  and  quickly  he  ordered  the  artillery 
to  begin  its  work ;  at  less  than  a  thousand  yards  the 
six-pounders  and  howitzers  did  deadly  work.  The 
charge  was  broken;  Conde  fell  back  in  some  confusion, 
unmasking,  however,  a  battery  which  immediately 
commenced  a  fire  upon  the  American  army.  The  ar- 
tillery battle  continued  for  upwards  of  an  hour,  re- 
sulting in  i>reat  loss  to  the  ^lexicans.     General  Conde 


^^Hughes'  Doniphan's  Expedition.    Campaigning  with  Doni- 
phan-Edwards. 


PLAN  OK  THE  BATTLE  OF  SACRAMENTO 


MILITARY    OCCIPATIOX    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  11^3 

fell  back  and  attempted  to  reorjjanize  his  command 
behind  the  retrenchments.  Meanwhile  the  Americans 
advanced  to  storm  the  redonbts.  Sixteen  pieces  of 
cannon  from  the  redonbts  o})ened  a  heavy  fire  nj)on  onr 
army  as  it  moved  n}»  the  hill,  but,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  enemy  was  compelled  to  direct  his  fire  phin- 
gingly  down  hill,  the  army  sustained  but  little  damage. 
When  within  four  hundred  yards  of  the  redoubts  a 
charge  was  ordered.  Here  it  was  that  Captain  Reid 
again  distinguished  himself,  for  with  twenty-five  troop- 
ers he  charged  the  redoubt  in  his  front  and  carried  the 
battery,  silencing  the  guns.  He  was  too  weak  to  hold 
it,  however,  and  overwhelmed  by  the  enemy  he  was 
beaten  back.  His  horse  was  killed  under  him.  Within 
a  few  moments  the  remainder  of  Reid's  troop  was  with 
him  and  a  section  of  Weightman's  howitzers.  To- 
gether they  swept  the  intrenchments  with  grape  and 
canister  and  the  battery  was  retaken  and  held. 

Meanwhile  the  American  left,  under  Major  Gilpin, 
boldly  scaled  the  heights,  passed  the  intrenchments. 
cleared  the  redoubts  and,  with  great  slaughter,  forced 
the  enemy  to  retreat.  The  Mexican  artillerymen  were 
brave  fighters;  some  of  them  were  made  prisoners 
while  in  the  act  of  touching  off  their  cannon.  Great 
efforts  were  made  by  the  Mexican  generals  to  rally 
their  forces,  but  they  were  unavailing.  The  rout  of 
the  Mexican  army  became  general  and  the  slaughter 
continued  till  night  put  an  end  to  the  conflict. 

The  Mexican  loss  on  the  field  was  three  hundred 
and  four  men,  and  a  large  number  wounded,  not  less 
than  five  hundred  and  seventy  were  taken  prisoners. 

Thus  was  the  army  of  Northern  ^Mexico  totally  de- 
feated  and  completely  disorganized  by    a   column  of 


-MILITAUV    OCCri'ATIOX    OK    MOW     MKXICO.  115 

Missouri  volunteeis.  The  Aiucricau  loss  was  ono  killed, 
Major  Owens  of  Iiidej)eiideii(e,  Mo.,  and  eleven 
wounded. 

Colonel  Doniphan,  ininiediately  following  up  this 
sweeping  victory,  took  jiossession  of  the  Cit}'  of  Chi- 
huahua, together  with  a  vast  (juantity  of  provisions,  six 
thousand  dollars  in  silver,  fifty  thousand  head  of  sheep, 
one  thousand  tive  hundred  head  of  cattle,  one  hundred 
mules,  twenty  wagons,  twenty-five  thousand  pounds  of 
ammunition,  ten  ])ieces  of  cannon,  one  hundred  stands 
of  small  arms,  one  hundred  stands  of  colors,  several 
fine  carriages  and  other  things  of  lesser  note,  belonging 
to  the  departed  commander,  Heredia. 

On  the  same  day,  in  the  center  of  the  Plaza,  amid 
the  thunder  of  twenty-eight  guns,  a  national  salute. 
Old  Olory  was  hoisted  over  the  stronghold  of  northern 
Mexico. 

On  the  18th  of  March,  Doniphan  learned  of  the 
great  conflict  at  Buena  Vista,  and,  on  the  20th,  de- 
spatched a  messenger  to  General  Wool  protesting 
against  remaining  at  Chihuahua  as  a  mere  wagon-guard 
for  the  garrisoning  of  a  city  with  troo])s  never  intended 
for  such  duty.  On  the  0th  of  A])ril  following,  de- 
spatches were  received  from  (General  Taylor,  by  way 
of  General  ^Yool  at  Saltillo,  and  were  sent  to  Colonel 
Doniphan  by  the  hands  of  Cajitain  Pike,  with  an  escort 
of  twenty-six  cavalry-men,  reaching  Doniphan  on  the 
2.'U1.  and  on  the  25th  Colonel  Donij)han  ordered  the 
evacuation  of  the  city  and  began  his  march  to  Saltillo. 

Isolated  from  every  other  branch  of  the  army, 
barred  by  intervening  deserts  from  all  communication 
with  his  government,  thrown  entirely  ujion  his  own  re 
sources,   compelled    to    draw   supplies   from   a   hostile 


116  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

country  and  in  the  absence  of  instructions  from  any 
superior  authority,  Doniphan  and  his  command  had 
been  j)ractically  abandoned  by  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment and  left  to  cut  its  way  through  the  country  of 
a  subtle  enemy.  Destitute  of  clothing  and  the  means 
of  procuring  it,  the  army  not  having  received  a  dollar 
in  i)ay  since  the  day  of  enlistment,  the  soldiers  indeed 
were  become  rough  and  uncouth  samples  of  frontier 
existence. 

Their  long  beards  flowed  in  the  wind  like  the  hair 
of  the  Cossack  on  the  Russian  Steppes,  Their  buck- 
skin apparel,  their  unusually  stern  appearance,  their 
determined  and  resolute  mien  attracted  the  gaze  and 
won  the  admiration  of  the  people  everywhere. 

When  General  Wool,  with  three  thousand  five 
hundred  men,  with  heavy  artillery,  set  out  from  San 
Antonio  on  his  intended  expedition  against  Chihuahua, 
many  predicted  his  complete  annihilation,  and  yet, 
Doniphan,  with  a  force  of  less  than  a  thousand  effective 
men,  captured  the  city,  although  desperately  defended 
at  Sacramento,  a  feat  at  that  time  unrivalled  in  the 
history  of  American  armies. 

In  compliance  with  the  orders  of  General  Taylor, 
the  services  of  the  Missouri  Volunteers  being  no  longer 
re(iuired  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  General  Doniphan 
and  command  were  sent  to  the  United  States  by  way 
of  Matamoras  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  They  were  dis- 
charged at  New  Orleans  and  returned  to  their  native 
state,  graced  with  the  tro])hies  of  the  vanquislied  foe, 
the  cannon  captured  at  Sacramento  afterwards  pre- 
sented to  the  state  of  Missouri,  having  in  twelve  months 
travelled  more  than  three  thousand  five  hundred  miles 
by  hind,  over  two  thousand  five  hundred  miles  by  sea. 


The  Missouri  Mounted  Volunteer. 

Skt'tcli  fioin  Lifo,  on  Arrival  of  Doniplian's  Command  at  Chihuahua,  1847. 

Ri'priiit    fnini   Hughes'    Doniphan    Expedition. 


118  THK    MILITARY    OCCUrATION 

conquered  the  state  of  New  Mexico,  concluded  a  great 
campaign  against  the  Navajo  Indians,  in  which  a  treaty 
of  peace  was  secured,  fought  the  battles  of  Brazito  and 
Sacramento,  conquered  the  state  of  Chihuahua, 
marched  over  six  hundred  miles  through  sandy,  desert 
wastes  to  Saltillo,  joining  General  Wool,  all  accom- 
plished with  a  loss  of  less  than  one  hundred  of  their 
original  number. 

The  expedition  of  Cyrus  against  his  brother, 
Artaxerxes,  and  the  retreat  of  the  Ten  Thousand 
(Jreeks  under  Xenophon  form  the  only  parallel  to 
Doniphan's  expedition  recorded  in  the  history  of  the 
world.^^ 

The  returning  soldiers  were  welcomed  on  every 
hand  by  the  patriotic  citizens  of  their  native  state. 
(Jreat  public  meetings  were  held,  one  at  St.  Louis  on 
the  2d  day  of  July,  1847.  being  addressed  by  Hon. 
Thomas  H.  lienton,  then  a  Ignited  States  senator  from 
Missouri,  who  in  a  most  thrilling  and  eloquent  manner 
lecounted  with  astonishing  accuracy  and  extraordinary 
minuteness  the  events  of  the  great  campaign.^" 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  month,  at  a  meeting  held 
in  Indei>endence,  Colonel  Doniphan  was  crowned  with 
the  hero's  laurel  wreath,  and  a  Mrs.  Huchanan.  on  be- 
half of  the  ladies  of  the  state,  delivered  from  the  stand, 
in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  thousands,  a  most 
eUxiuent  address,  saying: — ^' 

"Volunteers  of  Missouri : — In  the  history  of  your 
<<)untry  no  fairer  i)age  can  be  found  than  that  which 
records  vour  heroic  achievements.     Many  of  vou  had 


"Hughes'  Doniphan's  Expedition. 
^Missouri  Rei)ublican— July  3d,  1847. 
••Hughes'  Doniphan's  Expedition,  page  383. 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  119 

never  welcomed  the  morning  lij?lit  without  the  sunshine 
of  a  motlier's  smile  to  make  it  brighter.  Many  of  you 
had  known  the  cares  and  hardships  of  life  only  in  name, 
still  you  left  the  home  of  your  childhood  and  en- 
countered })erils  and  sufferings  that  would  make  the 
cheek  of  a  Roman  soldier  turn  pale,  and  encountered 
them  so  gallantly  that  time  in  his  vast  calendar  of 
centuries  can  show  none  more  bravely,  more  freely 
borne." 

''We  welcome  you  back  to  your  homes.  The 
triumph  which  hailed  the  return  of  the  Caesars  to 
whose  war  chariot  was  chained  the  known  world  is  not 
ours  to  give,  nor  do  you  need  it.  A  prouder  triumph 
than  Rome  could  bestow  is  yours,  in  the  undying  fame 
of  your  proud  achievements.  But  if  the  welcome  of 
hearts  filled  with  warm  love  and  well  merited  admira- 
tion, hearts  best  known  and  longest  tried,  be  a  triumph, 
it  is  yours  in  the  fullest  extent." 

'^Colonel  Doniphan : — In  the  name  of  the  ladies 
who  surround  me,  I  bestow  on  you  this  laurel  wreath — 
in  every  age  and  every  clime,  the  gift  of  beauty  to  valor. 
In  ])lacing  it  on  the  brow  of  him  who  kneels  to  receive 
it,  I  place  it  on  the  brow  of  all  who  followed  where  so 
brave,  so  dauntless  a  commander,  led.  It  is  true  that 
around  the  laurel  wreath  is  twined  every  association  of 
genius,  glory  and  valor,  but  I  feel  assured  that  it  never 
was  i)laced  on  a  brow  more  worthy  to  receive  it  than 
his  on  which  it  now  rests— THE  HERO  OF  SACRA- 
MENTO." 

Alexander  William  Doniphan  was  born  on  the  9th 
day  of  July,  1808,  in  ]\[ason  county,  Kentucky.  There 
his  tender  years  were  spent  and  his  youthful  mind  re- 
ceived its  first  impressions.     Amidst  Kentucky's  wild, 


120  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

romantic  iiioimtain  scenery,  his  young  faculties  de- 
velojied,  unfolded  and  expanded.  Here  he  learned 
sentiments  of  honor,  honesty  and  patriotism.  He  was 
a  great  admirer  of  the  patriots  of  the  American 
devolution.  He  was  educated  at  a  college  located  at 
Augusta,  Kentucky,  conducted  by  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  and  graduated  in  his  10th  year  with  high 
honors.  He  read  law  under  Martin  Marshall  and 
finally  moved  to  the  state  of  Missouri  and  located  at 
Lexington,  removing  later  to  Liberty,  in  Clay  county, 
about  twelve  miles  from  Kansas  City.  His  success  at 
the  bar  was  almost  unexampled. 

Colonel  Doniphan,  in  1838,  held  the  office  of 
Brigadier  General  of  militia,  and  in  that  year  was  in 
command  of  a  brigade  belonging  to  the  division  of 
Major  General  Lucas,  operating  against  the  Mormons, 
who  were  creating  disturbances  in  the  Far  West,  led 
by  their  great  Prophet,  Josejjh  Smith.  Military  prep- 
arations were  being  actively  pushed  forward  by  the 
l*roj)het  to  meet  the  emergency  and  General  Doniphan 
rendered  imi)ortant  service  in  overawing  the  insurgent 
forces  and  quelling  the  disturbances  without  bloodshed. 
This  was  his  first  campaign.  His  biographers  say 
that'^  in  all  the  relations  of  his  social  life,  and  his 
public  career  jis  well,  his  conduct  was  most  exemplary. 
In  all  his  dealings  he  was  Just  and  honorable.  He  was 
most  interesting  and  fiueiit  in  conversation  ;  his  manner 
and  depoitiiient  weie  most  prepossessing,  and,  as  an 
(»j-at(tr,  he  had  wonderful  and  shining  powers.  His 
air  was  (•oiiinianding.  his  language  full  and  fiowing,  his 
gestures  graceful,  his  enunciation  distinct,  his  voice 
sonorous,  his  arguments  convincing  and  his  mind  clear 

"iniKhes  and  Allen. 


OF    THE    TEURITORY    OF    NKW    MEXICO.  121 

jind  comprehensive.  Ilis  was  a  great  imagination.  It 
was  not  only  brilliant  but  dazzlingly  brilliant,  vivid 
and  strong,  and  when  excited  the  tide  of  his  eloquence 
was  almost  irresistible.  In  stature  he  was  six  feet  and 
four  inches,  well  proportioned,  dignified  and  gentle- 
manly in  his  manners.  Ilis  features  were  bold,  his  eye 
keen  and  ex])ressive  and  his  forehead  massive.  No 
fitter  man  could  have  been  chosen  by  the  volunteers  for 
the  command  of  the  regiment.  It  was  his  sagacity  that 
planned,  his  judgment  that  conducted  and  his  energy 
and  bravery,  together  with  that  of  his  officers  and  men, 
that  accomplished  the  most  wonderful  campaign  of  any 
age  or  country.  It  was  done  without  an  outfit,  without 
money,  almost  without  ammunition,  by  a  citizen-com- 
mander of  citizen  soldiers.  The  history  of  this  expedi- 
tion is  his  monument.  His  deeds  will  ever  live  to 
praise  him.  He  died  at  Richmond,  Missouri,  August 
8,  1887,  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1.  General  Price  in  Command  at  Santa  F6.  2.  The  Archuleta 
Conspiracy.  3.  The  Taos  Revolution.  4.  The  Killing  of 
Governor  Bent.  5.  The  Battles  of  Canada,  Embudo,  Taos 
and  Mora.  6.  The  Leaders  Are  Tried  by  Court-martial 
and  Hanged.  7.  Fight  with  Indians  at  Red  River  Canyon. 
8.  Fight  at  Las  Vegas;  the  Town  Is  Burned.  9.  Indian 
Fight  at  Arroyo  Hondo.  10.  Fr.  Antonio  Jose  Martinez. 
1.   Legislature     Under    Military    Rule;     Governor     Vigil. 

12.  Differences   Between    Military   and    Civil   Authorities. 

13.  F(yrmation  of  Territory  of  New  Mexico. 

Upon  the  departure  of  Colonel  Doniphan  and  his 
command  for  the  Chihuahua  campaign,  Colonel  Ster- 
ling I*rice,  afterwards  commissioned  a  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral, and  later  Governor  of  Missouri  q^nd  a  Major  Gen- 
eral in  the  Confederate  army,  in  the  war  between  the 
States,  assumed  command  at  Santa  F^.  About  the 
1st  of  December  following  the  departure  of  Doniphan 
some  very  distinguished  native  citizens  of  New  Mex- 
ico began  to  hold  secret  cabals,  plotting  the  overthrow 
of  the  existing  government.  These  revolutionists  had 
been  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  New  Mexico  during 
the  rule  of  Armijo  and  longed  for  return  to  power 
and  authority.  The  leaders  of  this  revolution  were 
Don  Tonjas  Ortiz,  who  aspired  to  become  governor,  and 
Don  Diego  Archuleta,  who  had  been  nominated  as  com- 
manding general.  Many  other  prominent  men,  of 
great  and  restless  ambition,  joined  in  the  plot,  among 
whom,  it  has  been  declared,  was  the  priest,  Fr.  An- 
tonio Jose  Martinez,  of  Taos. 

The  lOth  of  December,  at  midnight,  was  the  time 
first  fixed  for  the  i-evolt,  which  was  to  be  simultaneous 
throughout  the  department.    Owing  to  a  want  of  com- 


MILITAUY    OCCLTATIOX    OK    MOW     MEXICO.  123 

pleto  orj»anization.  the  conspiracy  not  vet  having  fully 
matured,  the  coniniencenient  of  the  revolution  was  sus- 
pended until  the  evening  of  the  24th  of  December, 
when  it  was  believed  the  chances  for  the  successful 
capture  of  the  city  of  Santa  F<^  and  its  garrison  would 
be  better.  It  was  believed  that  Christmas  evening  was 
a  most  favorable  time,  for  the  reason  that  the  soldiers 
would  be  indulging  in  wine  in  the  resorts  of  the  city 
and  would  be  taken  unarmed.  Every  American,  with- 
out distinction,  throughout  the  entire  department,  and 
such  natives  as  had  favored  the  American  governmenr 
and  accepted  office  under  General  Kearny,  were  to  be 
massacred  and  the  reins  of  government  seized.  This 
revolution,  however,  failed,  owing  to  the  vigilance  of 
Colonel  Price,  his  officers  and  men.  The  leaders  fled, 
some  south  to  Chihuahua  and  others  to  the  mountains 
of  Kio  Arriba.  The  rebellion  was  immediately  sup- 
pressed. 

But  the  leaders  of  this  revolution  were  men  of 
restless  and  unsatisfied  ambition.  The}'  remained  in- 
active only  a  brief  period.  A  second  and  still  more 
dangerous  revolution  was  plotted.  Some  of  the  most 
powerful  and  dangerous  men  in  the  department  are 
knoAvn  to  have  favored  the  design.  The  experience  de- 
rived from  the  failure  of  the  first  brought  about  the 
most  profound  secrecy  in  the  formation  of  the  plans 
for  the  second.  Upon  the  surface  everything  through- 
out the  department  was  quiet  and  yet  the  machina- 
tions of  the  revolutionists  were  daily  gaining  strength. 
Even  the  i)riests  gave  counsel.  The  people  everywhere, 
in  the  towns,  villages  and  settlements  began  to  arm 
and  e(iui])  themselves  unknown  to  the  military  authori- 


124  THE    MILITAKY    OCCUPATION 

ties,  and  on  the  19th  of  January,  1847,  the  rebellion 
broke  out  in  several  parts  of  New  Mexico. 

THE  TAOS  REVOLUTION KILLING  OF  GOVERNOR  BENT. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  Governor  Charles  Rent 
had  left  Santa  F^  to  visit  Taos  and  five  days  later  he 
was  foully  assassinated  in  his  own  residence  in  that 
village. 

Governor  Bent,  it  seems,  was  aware  of  the  dis- 
content which  prevailed  among  certain  leaders  and 
classes  of  the  people,  for,  subsequent  to  the  first  con- 
spiracy, he  issued,  as  governor,  a  proclamation,  among 
other  things  declaring: 

"You  are  now  governed  by  new  statutory  laws  and 
.vou  also  have  the  free  government  promised  to  you. 
Do  not  abuse  the  great  liberty  which  is  vouchsafed 
you  by  it.  so  you  may  gather  the  abundant  fruits  which 
await  you  in  the  future.  Those  who  are  blindly  op- 
posed, as  well  as  those  whose  vices  have  made  them 
notorious,  and  the  ambitious  persons  who  aspire  to  the 
best  offices,  also  those  persons  who  dream  that  man- 
kind should  bow  to  their  whims,  having  become  satis- 
fied that  they  cannot  find  employment  in  the  offices 
which  are  usually  given  to  men  of  probity  and  hon- 
esty, exasperated  (Thomas  Ortiz  and  the  old  revolu- 
ti(mist,  Diego  Archuleta)  have  come  forth  as  leaders 
of  a  revolution  against  the  present  government.  They 
held  a  meeting  in  this  Capital  about  the  middle  of  last 
month,  which  was  also  attended  by  some  foolish  and 
imjuMident  men  who  were  urged  to  follow  the  standard 
of  rebellion.  Their  treason  was  discovered  in  time 
and  sDiotliered  at  its  birth.  Now  they  are  wandering 
nliouf  and  hiding  from  the  people,  but  their  doctrines 
are  scattered   broadcast     among    the    people,   thereby 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  \'2i) 

causinj;'  uneasiness,  and  tliey  still  hold  to  their  ruinous 
plans.  *  *  *  There  is  still  another  pretext  with 
Avhicli  they  want  to  alarm  you  and  that  is  the  false- 
hood that  troops  are  coniin<>-  from  the  interior  in  order 
to  reconquer  the  country.  What  help  could  the  de- 
partment of  C'liihuahua,  which  is  torn  by  factions  and 
reduced  to  insignificance  afford  you?  Certainly  none. 
*  *  *  I  urge  you  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  such  false 
doctrines  and  to  remain  quiet,  attending  to  your  do- 
mestic affairs,  so  that  you  may  enjoy  under  the  law, 
all  the  blessings  of  ])eace,  and  by  rallying  around  the 
government,  call  attention  to  the  improvements  which 
you  deem  material  to  the  advancement  of  the  country 
and  that  by  so  doing  you  may  enjo}-  all  the  prosperity 
which  your  best  friend  wishes  30U." 

While  he  knew  of  the  discontent  ])revailing.  Gov- 
ernor Bent  was  in  no  wise  alarmed  for  his  personal 
safety.  The  native  people  had  always  professed  the 
warmest  admiration  and  friendship  for  him,  and  his 
treatment  of  them  was  of  the  most  cordial  and  gener- 
ous kind. 

Governor  Bent  misjudged  the  people  and  under- 
estimated the  influence  of  the  treacherous  men  who 
l)rofessed  to  be  his  friends.  Early  on  the  morning  of 
the  19th  of  January,  the  insurrectionists,  under  the 
leadership  of  Pablo  ]\[ontoya  and  a  Taos  Indian, 
known  as  Tomasito,  entered  the  city,  joined  the  resi- 
dent members  of  the  revolutionary  movement  and  be- 
gan the  attack.  They  destroyed  the  houses  of  the  resi- 
dent Americans.  The  Indians,  under  the  leadership 
of  Tomasito.  visited  the  home  of  Governor  Bent,  and, 
firing  throngh  the  door,  while  engaged  in  conversation 
with  him.  wounded  him  in  the  chin  and  stomach.    The 


Old  Church  at  Taos,  N.  M. 


MILITAIIY    OCCII'ATIOX    OF    NKW     .MKXICO.  127 

door  was  broken  down  and  the  Indians  filled  his  body 
with  arrows,  three  of  which  the  j)ros(rate  jrovernor 
pulled  from  his  face  befoi-e  he  was  killed.  His  wrists 
and  hands  were  slashed  with  knives  and  axes.  Amidst 
the  fiendish  yells  of  the  Indians,  he  was  scalped,  while 
yet  alive,  and  afterwards  his  head  was  hacked  from 
his  body.  Immediately  after  the  killing  of  Governor 
Jient,  the  remainin<>-  Americans  hid  themselves  as  best 
they  could.  I'ablo  Jaramillo,  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Bent, 
and  Xarcisco  ]3eaubien.  a  son  of  Charles  Beaubien, 
buried  themselves  in  the  slraw  of  a  stable  near  by,  but 
were  discovered  and  their  bodies  pierced  through  with 
lances.  Among  others  who  were  massacred  were  Louis 
Lee,  the  acting  slieritf  of  the  county,  Cornelio  Vigil, 
prefect  and  probate  judge,  and  J.  W.  Leal,  circuit  at- 
torney, leaving  Taos,  the  insurrectionists  proceeded 
to  the  Arroyo  Hondo,  where  they  destroyed  a  distillery 
and  killed  Jesse  Turley  and  six  other  Americans.'''' 

While  these  bloody  scenes  were  being  enacted  in 
Taos  and  at  the  Arroyo  Hondo,  similar  attacks  were 
made  upon  Americans  in  other  jiarts  of  the  Territory. 
Seven  were  killed  at  Mora.^"  These  were  Santa  Fe 
traders,  the  most  prominent  of  whom  was  Lawrence 
L.  Waldo,  of  Westport.  Missouri,  father  of  Henry  L. 
Waldo,  of  Las  A'^egas.  Mr.  Waldo  had  been  engaged 
in  trade  for  several  years  and  had  made  several  trips 
over  the  Santa  Fe  Trail.  Like  Governor  Bent,  he  was 
respected  and  liked  by  the  masses  of  the  ^lexican  peo- 
j)le  and  by  the  Indians.  He  was  just  entering  Mora 
with  his  com])anions.  in  charge  of  a  caravan,  ignorant 


^"Hughes'  Doniphan's  Expedition,  page  393. 
"'Hughes'     Doniphan's     Expedition  —  Culver,     Noyes     and 
others. 


128  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

of  the  fact  that  a  revolution  had  been  started,  when 
all  were  shot  from  ambush  and  killed.  When  the  news 
reached  Las  \'e}i;as,  a  detachment  of  troops  was  sent 
to  Mora,  which  returned  with  the  bodies  of  the  mur- 
dered men,  and  later  they  were  buried  in  the  cemetery 
on  the  hill  west  of  the  present  old  town  of  Las  Vegas. 

GENKRAL    I'RICE    STARTS    FOR    TAOS.       BATTLES    OF    CANADA, 
EMBIDO    AX1>    TAOS. 

As  soon  as  Colonel  Price  learned  of  the  massacre  of 
Governor  Bent  and  his  retinue,  word  having  been 
brought  to  him  by  a  brother  of  the  sheriff,  who  had  lost 
his  life  with  Bent,  he  left  for  Taos  with  a  strong  force. 

The  insurgents  were  assembled  in  force  near  the 
present  village  of  Santa  Cruz,  twenty-five  miles  north 
of  Santa  F{\  under  Cenerals  Ortiz  and  Montoya,  with  a 
view  of  making  an  assault  upon  the  Capital.  Colonel 
Price  met  them  at  Canada,  the  enemy  numbering  about 
two  thousand  men.  The  American  force  consisted  of 
four  hundred  and  eighty  men  and  four  pieces  of  ar 
tillery,  mountain  howitzers.  The  insurgents  were 
posted  on  both  sides  of  the  main  road  to  Taos,  occupy- 
ing the  hills.  A  sharj)  fire  from  the  howitzers  was  di- 
rected against  the  enemy,  but  with  little  effect,  where 
upon  Colonel  Price  ordered  Captain  Angney  to  charge 
the  hill,  which  was  gallantly  done,  being  sup])orted  by 
i'aptain  St.  A'rain  with  a  company  of  citizen  soldiers. 
The  conflict  continued  until  sundown.  The  American 
loss  was  two  killed  and  seven  wounded.  The  insurgent 
loss  was  thirty  six  killed  and  forty-five  taken  prisoners. 
Tlic  insurgents  retreated  toward  Taos.  The  enemy  was 
hotly  pursued  by  Price  and  was  again  encountered  at 
l^nihudo.  where  he  was  discovered  in  the  thick  pinon 
aiul  cedar  thickets  which  lined  the  road  side.    A  charge 


OF    TliIK    TEUIUTORY    OF    NKW    MEXICO.  129 

was  ordered  aud  was  made  by  three  companies  under 
Ca])tain  linrgwin  and  ('ai)tain  St.  Vrain  and  Lieuten- 
ant White,  resulting  in  the  total  route  of  the  insurgents. 

The  march  was  resumed  tlie  following  day  and  no 
opposition  was  had  until  the  third  day  of  February,  at 
which  time  Price  arrived  at  the  Pueblo  of  Taos,  where 
he  found  the  insurgents  strongly  fortified.  A  few 
rounds  were  fired  by  the  artillery  that  evening,  but  was 
soon  discontinued  on  account  of  its  inefi:ectiveness. 

General  Price  gives  a  very  vivid  description  of  the 
battle  of  Taos ;  it  is  as  follows  : — "Posting  the  dragoons 
under  Captain  Burgwin  about  two  hundred  and  sixty 
yards  from  the  western  flank  of  the  church,  I  ordered 
the  mounted  men  under  Captains  St.  Vrain  and  Slack 
to  a  position  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  town,  whence 
they  could  discover  and  intercept  any  fugitives  who 
might  attempt  to  escape  toward  the  mountains  or  in 
the  direction  of  San  Fernando.  The  residue  of  the 
troops  took  ground  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the 
north  wall.  Here,  too.  Lieutenant  Dyer  established 
himself  with  the  six-pounder  and  two  howitzers,  while 
Lieutenant  Hassendaubel,  of  Major  Clark's  battalion, 
light  artillery,  remained  with  Captain  Burgwin,  in  com- 
mand of  two  howitzers.  By  this  arrangement  a  cross- 
fire was  obtained,  sweeping  the  front  and  eastern  flank 
of  the  church.  All  these  arrangements  being  made,  the 
batteries  opened  upon  the  town  at  nine  o'clock  a.  m. 
At  eleven  o'clock,  finding  it  impossible  to  breach  the 
walls  of  the  church  with  the  six-pounders  and  the 
howitzers,  I  determined  to  storm  the  building.  At  a 
signal  Cai)tain  Burgwin,  at  the  head  of  his  own  com- 
pany and  that  of  Captain  ^McMillin,  charged  the 
western  flank  of  the  church,  while  Captain  Angney,  in- 


ISIILITAKY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  131 

fantrv  battalion,  and  ra])tain  liarbor  and  Lieutenant 
Boon,  Second  Missouri  ^lounted  Volunteers,  charged 
the  northern  wall.  As  soon  as  the  troops  above  men- 
tioned had  established  themselves  under  the  western 
wall  of  the  church,  axes  were  used  in  the  attempt  to 
breach  it,  and  a  temjiorary  ladder  having  been  made, 
the  roof  was  fired.  About  this  time  Captain  Burgwin, 
at  the  head  of  a  small  party,  left  the  cover  afforded  by 
the  flank  of  the  church,  and,  penetrating  into  the  corral 
in  front  of  that  building,  endeavored  to  force  the  door. 
In  this  exposed  situation  Captain  Burgwin  received  a 
severe  wound,  which  deprived  me  of  his  valuable  serv- 
ices, and  of  which  he  died  on  the  7th  instant.  Lieu- 
tenants Mcllvane,  First  United  States  Dragoons,  and 
Royall  and  Lachland,  Second  Regiment  Volunteers, 
accompanied  Captain  Burgwin  into  the  corral,  but  the 
attempt  on  the  church  door  proved  fruitless,  and  they 
were  compelled  to  retire  behind  the  wall.  In  the  mean- 
time small  holes  had  been  cut  in  the  western  wall,  and 
shells  were  thrown  in  b}'  hand,  doing  good  execution. 
The  six-pounder  was  now  brought  around  by  Lieutenant 
Wilson,  who,  at  a  distance  of  two  hundred  yards 
poured  a  heavy  fire  of  grape  into  the  town.  The  enemy, 
during  all  this  time,  kept  up  a  destructive  fire  upon  our 
troops.  About  half-past  three  o'clock  the  six-pounder 
was  run  up  within  sixt}'  yards  of  the  church,  and  after 
ten  rounds,  one  of  the  holes  which  had  been  cut  with 
the  axes  was  widened  into  a  practicable  breach.  The 
storming  party,  among  whom  were  Lieutenant  D3'er, 
of  the  ordnance,  and  Lieutenants  Wilson  and  Taylor, 
First  Dragoons,  entered  and  took  possession  of  the 
church  without  o])jiosition.  The  interior  was  filled  with 
dense  smoke,  but  for  which  circumstance  our  storming 


132  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

party  would  have  suffered  great  loss.  A  few  of  the 
enemy  were  seen  in  the  gallery,  where  an  open  door 
admitted  the  air,  but  they  retired  without  firing  a  gun. 
The  troops  left  to  support  the  battery  on  the  north  side 
were  now  ordered  to  charge  on  that  side." 

"The  enemy  then  abandoned  the  western  part  of 
the  town.  Many  took  refuge  in  the  large  houses  on  the 
east,  while  others  endeavored  to  escape  to  the  moun- 
tains. These  latter  were  pursued  by  the  mounted  men 
under  Captains  Slack  and  St.  Vrain,  who  killed  fifty- 
one  of  them,  only  two  or  three  men  escaping.  It  was  now 
night,  and  our  troops  were  quietly  quartered  in  the 
house  which  the  enemy  had  abandoned.  On  the  next 
morning  the  enemy  sued  for  peace,  and,  thinking  the 
severe  loss  they  had  sustained  would  prove  a  salutary 
lesson.  I  granted  their  supplication  on  the  condition 
that  they  should  deliver  up  to  me  Tomas,  one  of  their 
principal  men,  who  had  instigated  and  been  actively 
engaged  in  the  murder  of  Governor  Bent  and  others. 
The  number  of  the  enemy  at  the  battle  of  Pijeblo  de 
Taos  was  between  six  and  seven  hundred,  and  of  these 
one  hundred  and  fifty  were  killed,  wounded  not  known. 
Our  own  loss  was  seven  killed  and  forty-five  wounded ; 
many  of  the  wounded  have  since  died." 

Tn  this  battle  fell  Captain  Burgwin,  than  whom  a 

braver  soldier  or  bettei*  man  never  j)Oured  out  his  blood 

in  the  cause  of  his  country.     The  total  loss  of  the  in 

surgents  in  the  three  engagements  was  two  hundred 

and  eighty-two.     The  American  loss  was  fifteen  killed 

and  forty-seven  wounded.'^ 

^'Hnshes'  Donii)lian's  Expedition  and  official  report  of 
C'ol.  Prifp.  The  kilknl  were  Captain  Burgwin,  Lieutenant 
Van  ValkenburR:  sergeants  Caldwell,  Rose  and  Heart;  pri- 
vates flrahani.  Smith,  Papin,  Bower,  Brooks,  Levicy,  Han- 
suker,  Truax,  Austin  and  Beebe. 


OF    TIIK    TEIUUTORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  133 

After  the  battle  tlie  leading  spirits  in  the  insurrec 
tion  were  captured  and  i)laced  in  prison  awaiting  trial, 
but  a  dragoon,  named  Fitzgerald,  shot  Tomasito,  killing 
him  instantly.  On  the  Gth,  ^lontova,  who  had  styled 
himself  the  ''Santa  Ana  of  the  North,"  was  tried  by 
court-martial  and  sentenced  to  be  hung,  which  was 
done  in  the  presence  of  the  army,  along  with  fourteen 
others.^- 

The  home  of  Fr.  Antonio  Jose  Martinez  was  gen- 
erally regarded  as  the  headquarters  for  the  insurrec- 
tionists prior  to  the  uprising  and  until  after  the  assassi- 
nation of  Governor  Bent.  His  power  over  his  parish- 
ioners was  absolute  and  his  hatred  of  Americans  and 
American  institutions  was  recognized  by  all.  This  fact 
was  regarded  by  such  men  as  Governor  Bent,  Colonel 
St.  Yrain  and  Col.  Kit  Carson^^  as  ample  proof  of  his 
complicity  in  the  revolution.  His  brother,  Captain  Pas- 
cual  Martinez,  had  been  in  command  of  a  company  of 
soldiers  under  Governor  Armijo,  prior  to  the  coming 
of  General  Kearny,  and  there  are  persons  still  living 
who  are  authority  for  the  statement  that  he  actively 
participated  in  the  u|)rising  at  the  instigation  of  his 
brother,  the  ])riest. 

Governor  Bent  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  having 
been  born  in  Charleston,  in  1797.  His  father  was  of 
r^nglish  ancestry;  his  mother  was  part  French.  He 
was  a  verv  highlv  educated  man  and  graduated  from 


■"'The  court-martial  consisted  of  six  officers  —  Captains 
Angney,  Barbee  and  Slack;  Lieutenants  Ingalls,  White  and 
Eastin,  the  last  named  being  Judge-Advocate  of  the  Court. 

^Col.  Carson  was  not  in  this  battle,  although  his  home 
was  in  Taos;  at  the  time  he  was  in  California  with  Kearny, 
having  been  a  scout  under  him  in  his  march  from  the  Gila 
river  to  San  Diego,  California. 


134  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

the  Unitod  States  ^lilitary  Academy  at  West  Point. 
He  resigned  from  the  army  and  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuit"?  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  In  1829  he  left  for  the 
Far  West  over  the  Santa  F6  Trail,  looking  for  a  loca- 
tion for  the  establishment  of  business.  For  some  time 
he  was  with  his  brother  at  Bent's  Fort,  on  the  Arkan- 
sas, and,  in  1832,  came  to  Santa  F^,  where,  with  his 
brothers,  William  and  George,  he  established  a  general 
merchandising  business.  He  was  afterwards  a  busi- 
ness partner  with  Colonel  Ceran  St.  Vrain,  which  con- 
tinued until  the  death  of  Governor  Bent. 

Governor  Bent  married  Maria  Ignacia  Jaramillo, 
a  daughter  of  Don  Francisco  and  Apolonia  (Vigil) 
Jaramillo,  who  died  in  Taos,  April  13,  1883.  Mrs. 
Bent's  sister,  Josefa  Jaramillo,  was  the  wife  of  Chris- 
topher— Kit — Carson.  His  headless  remains  are  buried 
in  the  National  cemetery  at  Santa  F^. 

Fr.  Antonio  Jose  Martinez,  who  was  regarded  by 
many  as  one  of  the  chief  authors  of  the  revolution,  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  ever  identified  with 
the  history  of  New  Mexico.  He  was  born  in  the  county 
of  Kio  Arriba,  in  1793,  and  was  a  grandson  of  General 
Martinez,  who  came  from  Chihuahua  in  the  early  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  His  opposition  to  Ameri- 
cans and  their  institutions  was  made  manifest  in  many 
ways.  He  realized  that  the  coming  of  the  American 
was  a  death  blow  to  his  power  and  j)restige  in  the 
country  and  he  is  said  to  have  used  all  his  j)Ower  to 
incite  a  sentiment  of  suspicion  and  distrust  of  the 
American  people.  He  was  acknowledged  to  be  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  men  of  his  time  in  New  ^lexico. 
No  (die,  excej)t  those  who  were  actually  engaged  as 
j»iiii(ipals    in    the    insurrection,    knew    positively    just 


Father  Antonio  Jose  Martinez. 


^J^^^t^  i^^x/ 


136  MIUTAUY    OCCUPATION    OF    NKW    MKXICO. 

what  part  Fr.  Martinez  took  in  the  uprising.  He  was 
a  very  crafty  man  and  the  American  autliorities  never 
could  affirmatively  fix  upon  him  any  active  participa- 
tion, although  in  later  years  there  were  many  native 
citizens,  who  had  been  identified  with  the  movement, 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  they  had  been 
guided  by  his  counsel  and  advice.  He  died  at  Taos, 
July  27,  18G7,  and  is  buried  in  the  cemetery  at  that 
place. 

BATTLE    AT    MORA. 

Immediately  after  the  killing  of  Governor  Bent, 
news  of  the  fact  was  brought  to  Captain  Hendley,  who 
was  in  command  of  a  grazing  detachment  of  the  army 
on  the  Pecos  river.  He  learned  that  the  insurgent 
forces  were  gathering  near  Las  Vegas.  In  a  short  time 
he  was  joined  b}'  various  detachments  of  the  army  and 
marched  on  the  Citj'  of  the  Meadows,  which  he  at  once 
occupied. 

Leaving  the  greater  part  of  his  force  at  Las  Vegas, 
with  eighty  men.  Captain  Hendley  started  for  Mora, 
where  he  learned  that  the  insurgents  had  gathered 
a  force  of  two  hundred  men.  He  arrived  at  Mora  on 
the  24th.  A  general  engagement  ensued,  the  insurgents 
retreating  and  firing  from  windows  in  the  houses  of 
the  village.  A  large  body  of  insurgents  had  taken 
])Ossession  of  an  old  fort  and  commenced  to  fire  upon 
the  Americans.  Hendley  charged  the  fort  and  was  in 
possession  of  a  small  apartment,  and  was  making 
ready  to  fire  it,  when  he  was  struck  by  a  ball  from  an 
adjoining  room  and  died  immediately.  The  Americans, 
having  no  artillery,  retired  with  a  loss  of  one  killed 
and  three  wounded.  The  insurgent  loss  was  twenty- 
five  killed  and  seventeen  taken  prisoners. 


138  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

On  the  first  of  February,  the  death  of  Hendley  as 
well  as  that  of  Messrs.  Waldo,  Noyes,  Culver  and 
others  was  avenged  by  Captain  Morin  and  his  men  by 
the  complete  demolition  of  the  village  of  Mora.  The 
insurgents  fled  to  the  mountains. 

The  battles  of  Canada,  Embudo,  Taos  and  Mora, 
in  all  of  which  the  insurgents  were  defeated  with  heavy 
loss,  suppressed  the  insurrection  and  once  more  quiet, 
law  and  order  were  restored.  A  military  force  was 
left  at  Taos  by  Colonel  Price  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain Angne}'.  Price  returned  to  Santa  Fd,  where  he 
continued  to  discharge  the  civil  and  military  functions 
of  the  territory.  The  energy  and  ability  displayed  by 
Colonel  Price  in  the  suppression  of  this  rebellion  were 
most  commendable;  in  two  weeks  all  was  over;  the 
leaders  were  executed  after  trial  on  a  charge  of  trea- 
son; the  insurgent  armies  dispersed;  the  people  re- 
turned from  the  hills  to  their  homes,  their  daily  avoca- 
tions were  resumed  and  peace  and  harmony  were  at 
once  restored,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  masses 
of  the  peojile.  The  plans  that  had  been  laid  for  the 
uprising  were  far  more  extensive  than  anyone  had 
l)elieved  possible.  They  covered  the  entire  territory 
from  Taos  to  El  I'aso,  and  were  known  even  to  the 
City  of  Mexico,  for,  in  a  letter  to  Ceneral  Santa  Ana, 
from  that  city,  dated  nearly  three  months  after  the 
killing  of  Governor  Bent,  the  General  is  advised  that 
''Intelligence  has  been  received  from  New  Mexico  of 
certain  Sicilian  vespers  which  the  inhabitants  have 
enacted  upon  the  Yankees  there.  Being  no  longer  dis- 
l»osed  to  submit  to  the  extortions  exacted,  they  fell 


OF    TIIK    TKRRITOUY    01'^    NKW    MEXICO.  139 

iij)on  them  siiniiltancously,  and  had  killed  even  to  the 
general,  who  was  there  with  the  Yankees." 

At  a  term  of  court  held  by  Judge  Houghton  at 
Santa  F6  immediately  following  the  return  of  Colonel 
Price  from  Taos,  several  indictments  for  treason  were 
presented.  The  accused  men  were  mostly  residents  of 
Taos  county.  Prior  to  the  conflict  which  resulted  in 
the  killing  of  Governor  Bent,  a  circular  letter  had  been 
sent  out,  dated  January  20,  1847,  by  Jesus  Tafolla,  and 
countersigned  by  Antonio  Maria  Trujillo,  addressed  to 
the  several  native  military  commanders,  which  urged 
them  to  rebellion  in  the  following  words: 

''To  the  Defenders  of  Their  Country:  With  the 
end  to  shake  off  the  yoke  bound  on  us  by  a  foreign 
government,  and  as  30U  are  Military  Inspector  Gen- 
eral appointed  by  the  Legitimate  Commander  for  the 
Supreme  Government  of  Mexico,  which  we  proclaim  in 
favor  of :  The  moment  you  receive  this  communication, 
you  will  place  in  readiness  all  the  companies  under 
30ur  command,  keeping  them  ready  for  the  22d  day  of 
this  month,  so  that  the  forces  may  be,  on  the  day  men- 
tioned, at  that  point.  Take  the  precaution  to  observe 
if  the  forces  of  the  enemy  advance  any  toward  these 
points,  and  if  it  should  so  happen,  appoint  a  courier 
and  despatch  him  immediately,  so  that  exertions  may 
be  doubled,  understanding  that  there  must  not  be  re- 
sistance or  delay  in  giving  the  answer  to  the  bearer 
of  this  official  document." 

These  dispatches  were  accompanied  by  orders  read- 
ing as  follows :  ''By  the  order  of  the  Inspector  of 
Arms,  Don  Antonio  Maria  Trujillo.  I  herewith  send 


"Letters  of  J.  P.  De  IMora  to  Gen.  Santa  Ana — Ex.  Doc. 
No.  60,  page  1088. 


1-iO  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

you  tliis  dispatch  (or  order)  that  the  moment  this 
comes  to  liaiid  you  will  raise  all  the  forces,  together 
with  all  the  inhabitants  that  are  able  to  bear  arms, 
connecting  them  also  with  persons  in  San  Juan  de  Los 
Caballeros,  by  to-morrow,  counting  from  the  22d  day 
of  the  present  month,  and  not  later  than  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning. 

"AVe  have  declared  war  with  the  American  and  it 
is  now  time  that  we  shall  all  take  our  arms  in  our 
hands  in  defense  of  our  abandoned  country. 

'"You  are  held  responsible  for  the  execution  of  the 
above  order. 

^'JUAN  ANTONIO  GARCIA, 

'^Sor.  So.  Dn.  Pedro  Vigil." 

The  indictment  against  Trujillo,  drawn  by  Hon. 
Frank  1*.  Blair,  Jr.,  United  States  Attorney,  appointed 
by  (Jeneral  Kearny,  reads  as  follows:*'' 

"United  States  of  America,  ) 

[an. 

TERRITORY    OK    NEW    MEXIC0_,       ) 

"In  the  United  States  District  Court,  at  the  March 
Term,  1847. 
"The  Grand  Jurors  for  the  district  of  New  ^Mexico, 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States  of  America,  on  their 
oaths,  present  that  Antonio  Maria  Trujillo,  of  the 
County  of  Taos,  in  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico,  being 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States  of  America,  but  disre- 
garding the  duty  of  his  allegiance  to  the  government  of 
the  United  States  aforesaid,  and  wholly  withdrawing 
th(?  allegiance,  dut}-  and  obedience  which  every  true 
and  faithful  citizen  of  the  said  government  and  of 
right  ought  to  bear  toward  the  said  government  of  the 

"Records  in  office  District  Court,  Santa  Fe,  N.  M. 


OF    TIIK    TKRIUTOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  141 

United  States,  ou  the  20th  day  of  January,  in  the 
year  1847,  and  on  divers  other  days,  as  well  before  as 
after,  with  force  and  arms,  at  the  county  aforesaid 
and  territory  aforesaid,  together  with  divers  other  false 
traitors,  to  the  jurors,  aforesaid,  unknown,  did,  then 
and  there,  maliciously,  wickedly  and  traitorously  levy 
war  against  the  government  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  did  then  and  there  maliciously  and 
traitorously  endeavor  and  attempt  to  subvert  the  laws 
and  constitution  of  the  government,  to  the  evil  example 
of  all  others  in  like  cases  offending,  and  against  the 
peace  and  dignity  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States     *     *     *." 

Trujillo  was  tried  before  Judge  Houghton  and 
promptly  found  guilty.  The  sentence  imposed  by  the 
court  is  worthy  of  a  place  in  this  connection,  as  it  is  the 
only  sentence  of  the  kind  passed  by  any  court  in  the 
history  of  New  Mexico.  The  record  at  Santa  F6  shows 
the  sentence  to  have  been  in  the  following  words  :*° 

''Antonio  Maria  Trujillo : — A  jury  of  twelve  citi- 
zens, after  a  patient  and  careful  investigation,  pending 
which  all  the  safeguards  of  the  law,  managed  by  able 
and  indefatigable  counsel,  have  been  afforded  you,  have 
found  you  guilty  of  the  high  crime  of  treason.  What 
have  5'ou  to  say  why  the  sentence  of  death  should  not 
be  pronounced  against  you? 

"Your  age  and  gray  hairs  have  excited  the  sym- 
pathy of  both  the  court  and  the  jury.  Yet,  while  each 
and  all  were  not  only  willing  but  anxious  that  you 
should  have  every  advantage  placed  at  your  disposal 
that  their  highly  responsible  duty  under  the  laws  to 


*'Court  records,  Santa  Fe  District  Court,  date  ]\Iarch  16, 
1847. 


142  MILITAUY    OCCUPATION    OF   NEW    MEXICO. 

their  country  would  permit,  you  have  been  found 
guilty  of  the  crime  alleged  to  your  charge.  It  w^ould 
appear  that  old  age  has  not  brought  you  wisdom,  nor 
purity,  nor  honesty  of  heart.  While  holding  out  the 
hand  of  friendship  to  those  whom  circumstances  have 
brought  to  rule  over  you,  you  have  nourished  bitterness 
and  hatred  in  jour  heart.  You  have  been  found  second- 
ing the  acts  of  a  band  of  the  most  traitorous  murderers 
that  ever  blackened  with  the  recital  of  their  deeds  the 
annals  of  history.  Not  content  with  the  peace  and 
security  in  which  you  have  lived  under  the  present 
government,  secure  in  all  your  personal  rights  as  a 
citizen,  in  property,  in  person,  and  in  your  religion, 
you  gave  your  name  and  influence  to  measures  intended 
to  effect  universal  murder  and  pillage,  the  overthrow 
of  the  government  and  one  widespread  scene  of  blood- 
shed in  the  land.  For  such  foul  crimes  an  enlightened 
and  liberal  jury  have  been  compelled,  from  the  evi- 
dence brought  before  them,  and  by  a  sense  of  their 
stern  but  unmistakable  duty,  to  find  you  guilty  of 
treason  against  the  government  under  which  you  are  a 
citizen.  And  there  onh'  now  remains  to  the  court  the 
painful  duty  of  passing  upon  you  the  sentence  of  the 
law,  which  is  that  you  be  taken  from  hence  to  prison, 
there  to  remain  until  Friday,  the  IGth  day  of  April 
next,  and  that,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  that 
day,  you  be  taken  thence  to  the  place  of  execution,  and 
there  be  hanged  by  the  neck  till  you  are  dead  I  dead ! 
dead !  And  may  the  Almighty  God  have  mercy  on  your 
soul !" 

This  trial  and  its  outcome  were  made  the  subject- 
matter  of  a  resolution  passed  by  the  congress  of  the 
United  States  calling  upon  President  Polk  to  advise 


144  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

<ong;i*ess  whether  any  persons  had  been  tried  and  con- 
demned for  ''treason  against  the  United  States  in  that 
part  of  New  Mexico  lying  east  of  the  Kio  Grande  since 
tlie  same  has  been  in  the  occupancy  of  our  army"  and, 
if  so.  before  "what  tribunal,"  and  '*by  what  authority 
of  law  such  tribunal  was  established." 

In  response  to  this  request,  President  Polk  said : 
^'"It  appears  that  after  the  territory  in  (piestion  was 
'in  the  occupancy  of  our  Army'  some  of  the  conquered 
Mexican  inhabitants,  who  had  at  first  submitted  to 
our  authority,  broke  out  in  oj)en  insurrection,  murder- 
ing our  soldiers  and  citizens  and  committing  other 
atrocious  crimes.  Some  of  the  principal  offenders  who 
were  apprehended  were  tried  and  condemned  by  a 
tribunal  invested  with  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction, 
which  had  been  established  in  the  conquered  country 
by  the  military  officer  in  command.  That  the  offenders 
deserved  the  punishment  inflicted  upon  them  there  is 
no  reason  to  doubt,  and  the  error  in  the  proceedings 
against  them  consisted  in  designating  and  describing 
tlieir  crimes  as  'treason  against  the  United  States.' 
This  error  Avas  pointed  out,  and  its  recurrence  thereby 
}»r(  vented,  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  in  a  dispatch  to 
the  officer  in  command  in  New  Mexico,  dated  on  the 
L'Oth  day  of  June.  1S47." 

Tb<'i-e  is  doubt  as  to  the  authority  to  try  and  con- 
demn Tnijillo  for  "treasonable"  acts.  The  error  con- 
sisted in  the  manner  in  which  it  was  d<me.  In  the 
pr(>s<'cution  of  the  war  with  ^fexico.  the  United  States 
li;i<l  tlie  right,  by  con(|nest  and  military  occnj)ation. 
to  (xeicise  rights  (if  sovereignty  over  it.  The  sov- 
ereignty  of   Mexico   was  suspended   and   the   laws  of 

•Message  of  President  Polk.  July  24,  1848. 


OF    THE    TKRUITOKY    OF    NKW     .MEXICO,  145 

Mexico  could  not  be  ri^lit fully  enforced  over  tlie  con- 
(juered  territory  or  be  obligatory  over  its  inhabitants, 
who  remained  and  submitted  to  the  autliority  of  our 
government.  By  the  surrender  the  inhabitants  at 
least  passed  under  a  temporary-  allegiance  and  were 
bound  by  such  laws  and  such  laws  only  as  the  United 
States  saw  fit  to  recognize  and  impose.  From  the 
nature  of  the  case  no  other  laws  could  be  obligatory 
upon  them,  for  where  there  is  no  allegiance  or  pro- 
tection or  sovereignty  there  can  be  no  claim  to 
obedience.^'* 

The  only  affairs  occurring  during  the  year  1S4T,  in 
which  the  military  took  an  im])ortant  part,  were  those 
at  Ked  Eiver  ("anon,  about  180  miles  from  Santa  F6, 
where  ^lajor  l]dmonson,  with  a  detachment  of  two 
hundred  men,  was  vigorously  attacked  by  a  large  force 
of  Indians,  estimated  to  have  been  about  five  hundred 
in  number.  In  the  engagement  the  American  loss  was 
one  killed  and  several  wounded. 

In  the  month  of  June,  Lieutenant  Brown  and  two 
l)rivate  soldiers  were  killed  near  Las  Vegas  and  the 
bodies  of  the  enlisted  men  burned.  ]Major  Edmonson 
determined  to  punish  the  men  who  committed  these 
murders  and  marched  u])on  the  town  with  a  small 
force  of  cavalry,  leaving  the  infantry  and  artillery  to 
follow.  On  reaching  the  Gallinas,  he  divided  his  force 
into  two  parties,  under  command  of  Captains  Hollo- 
way  and  Horine,  and  charged  the  place  on  the  right 
and  left  of  the  plaza.  In  less  than  fifteen  minutes 
many  ^Mexicans  were  slain,  the  fugitives  cai)tured  and 
the  town  with  fifty  prisoners  taken.  The  dead  body 
of  Lieutenant  Brown,  having  the  cross  suspended  from 


"Debates  in  Congress,  1848. 


146  TIIK    MILITAUV    OCCLl'ATIOX 

bis  neck,  was  found  secreted  in  the  rocks  west  of  the 
plaza.  The  clothes,  guns,  sabres,  pistols  and  bowie 
knives  of  the  murdered  soldiers  were  discovered  se- 
creted in  various  houses.  The  greater  portion  of  the 
town  was  reduced  to  ashes,  only  a  sufficient  number 
of  houses  being  left  to  shelter  the  women  and  children. 
The  mills,  a  few  miles  from  the  town,  which  belonged 
to  the  alcalde,  Juan  de  Dios  Maes,  were  also  destroyed. 
The  prisoners,  by  order  of  Colonel  Price,  were  con- 
veyed to  Santa  F{\  where  they  were  tried  before  a 
court  martial  and  six  of  them  sentenced  to  death. 
This  sentence  was  carried  out  on  the  3rd  day  of  August 
in  the  presence  of  the  army. 

On  July  9th  a  detachment  of  thirty-one  men,  be- 
longing to  Captain  Morin's  company,  stationed  about 
18  miles  from  Taos,  was  furiously  attacked  two  hours 
before  daylight  by  two  hundred  Mexicans  and  Pueblo 
Indians.  Five  Americans  were  killed  and  nine 
wounded.^".  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  never  ascer- 
tained. 

As  before  stated,  the  government  established  by 
(^J<'neral  Kearny,  had  the  instructions  given  to  him  l)y 
the  Se<retarv  of  War  been  carried  out,  should  have 
been  of  a  character  purely  military,  with  the  right  to 
perform  only  such  civil  duties  as  were  necessary  to 
the  full  enjoyment  of  the  advantages  resulting  from 
the  coufpiest  and  to  the  due  }>rotection  of  the  rights 
of  all  persons  and  the  property  of  the  i)eople.''*' 

Tn  the  latter  ];art  of  1S47  it  became  very  patent 
to  all  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  established  by 

*The  killed  were  T.ieut.  Larkin.  W.  Owens.  J.  A.  Wright, 
W.  S.  ]\lason  and  Wilkinson. 

"Letter  to  General  Kearny  from  W.  L.  Marcy,  Sec.  of 
War — Ex.  Doc.  Xo.  60,  page  179. 


OF    TUB    TERRITORY    OP    NEW    MEXICO.  147 

Kearny  was  very  limited,  i)articiilai'ly  when  any  con- 
flict arose  between  the  civil  and  military  authorities. 
The  citizens  of  the  territory  were  not  aware  of  the 
position  of  the  administration  at  Washington  relative 
to  the  rights  of  the  United  States  over  the  territory 
and  its  people. 

As  late  as  October  20,  1847,  nearly  a  year  after 
the  message  of  President  Polk  to  the  congress  of  the 
United  States,  in  which  he  approved  only  a  part  of  the 
official  acts  of  General  Kearny,  as  declared  in  his 
proclamation,  in  the  giving  of  the  code  of  laws  and 
the  making  of  civil  appointments,  a  periodical  pub- 
lished at  Santa  F^  at  that  time,  in  a  long  editorial 
upon  the  existing  state  of  affairs,  says  :''^  "Recently 
the  American  citizens  here  have  seen  the  powers  prop- 
erly falling  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  civil  tribunals 
arrogated  by  the  military,  bringing  the  former  into 
contempt  and  disrepute,  and  that  there  is  in  effect 
only  the  form  of  a  civil  government  in  the  territory, 
and  that  for  all  practical  purposes  it  is  paralyzed  and 
ineffectual.  This  being  the  state  of  things,  the  will 
of  the  commanding  officer  is  the  law.  The  citizens 
here  are  not  aware  that  the  laws  framed  and  estab- 
lished by  General  Kearny  and  confirmed  by  the  presi- 
dent have  been  revoked.  They  wish  to  know  whether 
the  organic  laws  of  General  Kearny  are  still  in  full 
force,  or  whether  they  have  been  revoked.  They  wish 
to  know  whether  this  has  been  done  by  the  order  of 
the  President  or  not.  Why  call  together  a  legislative 
body,  if  its  acts  may  be  annulled  and  made  void  by  the 
will  or  caprice  of  a  commanding  officer?  Why  frame 
laws,  if  the  order  of  a  commanding  officer  is  para- 


'Editorial,  Santa  Fe  Republican,  Oct.  20,  1847. 


148  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

mount?  AVhy  have  judges  and  courts  if  they  can  only 
act  at  the  pleasure  of  the  military  authorities?" 

A  grand  jury/'-  dul}-  sworn  and  empaneled  by 
Judge  Houghton,  the  presiding  judge  of  the  court 
sitting  at  Santa  F6,  in  its  report  of  matters  before  it 
during  the  October  Term,  1847,  very  pertinently  says: 
"They  have  found  the  honorable  court  which  they  now 
address  has  virtually  acknowledged  the  existence  of 
a  superior  authority  by  refusing  to  issue  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  in  behalf  of  a  citizen.  They  have  also 
found  that  the  settlement  of  civil  contracts  has  been 
arrogated  by  another  authority  than  the  regularly  ap- 
pointed civil  courts;  that  the  military  commander  has 
been  the  self-constituted  judge  and  jury  of  a  case 
which  concerned  his  own  private  interests.  They  rec- 
ommend that  the  civil  authorities  request  from  the 
military  that,  when  a  citizen  is  arrested  for  any  offense 
against  the  existing  statutes  of  the  territory,  he  be 
handed  over  for  trial  to  them." 

This  grand  jury  report  is  significant.  No  copy  of 
it  is  found  in  the  court  records,  but  the  ne\vspaj)er,  in 
which  it  was  published,  is  on  file  in  the  records  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  New  Mexico.  The  conclusion  is 
inevitable  that  in  the  disposition  of  matters  involving 
violations  of  the  criminal  code,  Judge  Houghton  had 
very  little  to  say,  particularly  if  the  commanding  oflS- 
(•(*r  thought  best  to  exercise  his  authority.  The  learned 
judge  was  not  a  member  of  the  legal  profession  when 
Kearny  clothed  him  with  the  judicial  ermine,  neither 
was  Otero  or  Beanbien,  but  it  does  not  require  a  law- 
yer to  ascertain  that  Judge  Houghton's  stock  of  good 


"Report  of   Grand   Jury — Santa   Fi»   Republican,   Oct.   20, 
1847. 


OF    TIIK    TERKITOIIY    OF    NKW    MEXICO.  149 

coimnoii  sense  was  great  enough  to  cause  a  denial  of  a 
writ  of  liabeas  corpus  rather  than  have  a  clash  with 
the  commanding  officer,  who,  at  that  time,  liajjpened 
to  be  General  Sterling  l*rice.  The  judge,  not  learned 
in  the  law,  evidently  desired  to  continue  dealing  out 
justice,  even  though  his  jurisdiction  was  somewhat 
warped  and  hazy.  The  covert  sarcasm  of  the  word 
''request,"  as  used  by  the  grand  jury  in  its  report, 
shows  beyond  all  question  that,  even  with  the  so-called 
courts  and  other  officials  created  by  Kearny  endeavor- 
ing to  exercise  their  official  functions,  the  real  and 
supreme  authority  was  the  commanding  general  of  the 
department.  Judge  Houghton  evidently  had  some  of 
the  characteristics  of  a  Solomon  in  declining  to  have 
a  serious  clash  with  an  American  General,  who,  when 
occasion  required,  saw  fit  to  constitute  himself  a 
"judge  and  jury  of  a  case  which  concerned  his  own  pri- 
vate interests." 

LEGISLATUUE  AT  THE   TIME   OF   MILITARY   OCCUPATION. 

On  the  Gth  day  of  December,  1847,  a  so-called 
Legislative  Assembly,  under  the  military  government, 
convened  at  Santa  Fe.  Uonaciano  Vigil  had  been  named 
governor,  after  the  death  of  Bent.  Governor  Vigil  was 
a  native  New  Mexican  and  was  born  September  6,  1802. 
He  had  occupied  a  number  of  public  positions,  both 
civil  and  militar}-,  and  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the 
people.  He  had  been  active  in  expeditions  against  the 
Navajos  in  1823,  1833,  183G  and  in  1838.  For  more 
than  four  years  he  was  the  military  secretary  of  the 
governor  and  Avas  twice  a  member  of  the  Departmental 
Assembly,  and  was  an  official  of  great  experience. 

The  address  of  Governor  A^igil  to  the  first  legis- 
lative assemblv  forciblv  demonstrates  him  to  have  been 


150  TllK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

a  man  of  marked  ability.  He  had  been  accustomed  to 
methods  and  a  system  of  government  radically  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  the  great  republic  whose  protec- 
tion he  was  then  enjoying  and  to  which,  when  Kearny 
came,  lie  had  been  among  the  first  to  render  allegiance. 
He  must  have  been  well  informed  as  to  our  institu- 
tions, or  else  in  one  short  year  he  absorbed  more  than 
many  of  his  people  have  succeeded  in  attaining  in  the 
many  years  that  have  elapsed  since  that  memorable 
occasion.  His  ideas  of  public  education  and  the  men- 
tal emancipation  of  his  people  are  well  worth  consid- 
ering even  to-day.  On  this  subject  Governor  Vigil 
said :  ^'If  your  government  here  is  to  be  republican, 
if  it  is  to  be  based  upon  democratic-republican  prin- 
ciples, and  if  the  will  of  the  majority  is  to  be  one  daj' 
the  law  of  the  land  and  the  government  of  the  people, 
it  is  evident,  for  this  will  to  be  properly  exercised,  the 
people  must  be  enlightened  and  instructed.  And  it  is 
particularly  important  in  a  country,  where  the  right 
of  suffrage  is  accorded  and  secured  to  all,  that  all 
should  be  instructed  and  that  every  man  should  be 
able  to  read  to  inform  himself  of  the  passing  events 
of  the  day  and  of  the  matters  interesting  to  his  country 
and  government.  This  is  the  age  of  improvement,  both 
in  government  and  society,  and  it  more  particularly 
becomes  us,  when  commencing,  as  it  were,  a  new  order 
of  things,  to  profit  by  and  i)romote  such  improvements, 
and  they  can  only  l)e  encouraged  and  promoted  by  dif- 
fusing knowledge  and  instruction  among  the  ])eople. 
The  diffusion  of  knowledge  breaks  down  antiquated 
prejudices  and  distinctions,  introduces  the  people  of 
all  count  lies  to  a  more  intimate  and  attached  acquaint- 


OF    THK    TERRITORY    OF    NKW    MEXICO.  151 

ance,  and  is  calculattMl  to  cultivate  tliose  synii)atl)ies 
ainon<»"  the  masses  in  all  nations  which  induce  compari- 
son and  insure  improvement.  The  world  at  large  is 
advancing,  and  how  can  we  profit  by  the  advance  unless 
the  people  are  educated?  It  is  true  that  the  available 
means  which  could  be  applied  at  present  to  the  cause 
of  education  are  small,  but  for  the  promotion  of  so 
desirable  an  object  they  might  be  both  increased  and 
economized.  All  that  the  legislature  can  do  in  the 
cause  of  education  for  the  people  is  most  earnestly 
pressed  ujjon  them  and  will  meet  with  my  hearty  ap- 
proval and  co-operation." 

This  first  session  of  a  legislative  assembly  ever 
held  in  Xew  Mexico  under  American  control  was  or- 
ganized by  the  election  of  Don  Antonio  Sandoval  as 
Speaker  of  the  Legislative  Council  and  Captain  W.  Z. 
Angney  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
Ten  acts  were  passed,  among  which  were  acts  estab- 
lishing a  University  and  raising  funds  for  its  support; 
an  act  in  relation  to  replevin;  one  regulating  eject- 
ments, and  one  calling  for  a  convention  of  delegates  to 
meet  in  the  City  of  Santa  Fe,  in  the  month  of  Febru- 
ary, 1848.  These  laws  all  bear  the  approval  of  Gover- 
nor Vigil,  and  were  also  approved  by  the  Military  Com- 
mander, General  Price,  by  special  orders,  as  follows  r^'^ 

''Headquarters,  0th  Military  Department, 
"Santa  F6,  X.  M.,  February  5,  1818. 
''The  foregoing  Legislative  enactments  of  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Xew  ^lexico.  having  been  duly  reviewed  by 


'''Pamphlet    of    Laws,    Sess.    1847,    in    library    of    Frank 
Springer,  Esq.,  Las  Vegas,  N.  M. 


152  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

the  Commanding  General   of  the  Territory,  they  are 
hereby  approved,  and  will  be  duly  observed. 

''By  order  of  the  Brigadier  General, 

"STERLING  PRICE." 
"W.  E.  PRINCE, 

"A.  D.  C.  &  A.  A.  A.  Gen." 

On  the  same  day,  the  Commanding  General,  hav- 
ing become  convinced  that  a  Territorial  Secretary,  a 
United  States  District  Attorney  and  a  United  States 
Marshal  were  unnecessary  in  the  carrying  on  of  the 
government,  and  without  requesting  the  resignation  of 
either  of  the  officials  named  by  General  Kearny,  abol- 
ished the  offices  by  Sjiecial  Order.  By  the  same  order 
he  also  decreed  that  an  import  duty  of  six  per  centum, 
ad  valorem,  should  be  levied  upon  all  merchandise  in- 
troduced into  the  Territory,  and  named  the  Territorial 
Treasurer  as  Collector  of  Customs  on  such  imports, 
establishing  sub-collectorshi])S  at  the  town  of  Taos, 
the  town  of  San  ^liguel  and  the  town  of  Valencia. 

Licensed  gambling  houses  were  established  by  Gen- 
eral Price,  by  the  same  general  order,  the  license  being 
fixed  at  two  thousand  dollars  i)er  annum.'* 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  government  of  New 
Mexico  was  essentially  military  in  character  and  that 
everything  in  the  way  of  law  and  order  was  strictly 
within  the  control  of  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
Military  Department.  This  condition  continued  for 
two  years  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  Guadalui)e 
Hidalgo.  The  commanders  of  the  department  succeed- 
ing General  Price,  who  left  New  Mexico  in  the  summer 


■■■'Orders  No.  10,  Gen.  Price,  commanding  9th  Military  De- 
l)artnu'nf.  War  Rec.  Washington,  D.  C.  Reports  of  General 
St'Tling  Price. 


OF    THE    TEUUITOUV    OF    NEW     MEXICO.  lifli 

of  1848.  wore  Colonel  Xewby,  ]\rajoi'  Beall,  Major  Wash- 
ington and  Colonel  John  Mnnroe. 

Tn  the  month  of  Febrnary,  1848,  General  Price 
])nl)lished  an  address  to  the  members  of  the  convention 
which  was  to  be  held  in  Santa  Fe  in  the  following  Oc- 
tober, and  which  was  provided  for  by  the  second  Act 
passed  by  the  general  assembly  of  1847.  In  that  ad- 
dress General  Price  said:  ''Yon  can  now  secure  the 
protection  of  a  government  which  imposes  no  bonds 
npon  the  conscience,  which  will  protect  you  in  the  un- 
molested enjoyment  of  your  personal,  political  and  re- 
ligious rights,  under  the  regulation  of  equal  laws.  In 
short,  you  have  it  in  your  power  to  secure  for  New 
Mexico  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  citizens  under 
the  freest  government  in  the  world.  *  *  *  And  I 
express  the  hope  that,  in  view  of  your  serious  and  im- 
portant duties,  the  deliberations  of  the  convention  will 
be  conducted  with  the  strictest  propriety'  and  decorum; 
and  though  the  right  freel}'  and  properly  to  express 
opinions  should  not  be  restricted,  yet  I  desire  all 
clearly  to  understand  that  seditious  and  indecorous 
language  against  the  constituted  militar}-  or  civil  au- 
thorities, calculated  to  inflame  or  excite  the  people 
against  the  government,  my  desire  for  the  peace  and 
welfare  of  the  Territory  will  induce  me  immediately 
to  notice.  The  utterers  of  such  language  will  be  held 
responsible  and  called  to  a  strict  account." 

The  time  for  the  holding  of  this  convention  had 
been  set  by  the  legislative  assembly  for  the  month  of 
February,  1848,  but  it  did  not  convene  until  the  fol- 
lowing October,  nearly  four  months  after  the  signing 
of  the  Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo.  When  this  treaty 
was  executed  rnanv  claimed  that  the  militarv  authority 


154  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUrATION 

in  New  Mexico  ceased  to  exist,  but  those  in  authority 
at  Washington  thouglit  differently  and  claimed  that 
the  civil  government  established  during  the  war  must 
remain  as  a  dc  facto  government  until  the  congress 
should  provide  a  territorial  organization.  Meanwhile 
the  military  authorities  continued  to  govern,  although 
many  efforts  were  made  on  the  part  of  the  new  comers 
from  the  states  to  form  a  civil  government,  and  secure 
recognition  at  the  capital  of  the  nation.  These  new 
settlers  belonged  to  that  class  of  restless  Americans 
who  opposed  military  rule  in  times  of  peace,  and  im- 
mediately they  began  striving  for  recognition  as  a  ter- 
ritory. 

On  the  10th  of  October  the  convention  met  and 
continued  in  session  for  four  days.  Fr.  Antonio  Jose 
Martinez,  of  Taos,  was  chosen  president,  and  James 
M.  Giddings  was  made  clerk.  The  convention  accom- 
plished little  more  than  the  drawing  up  of  a  memorial 
to  Congress.  The  memorial  throws  considerable  light 
upon  the  thought  and  opinion  of  the  day  and  it  is 
therefore  rei)roduced  in  full.    It  follows: 

''Petition  to  Congress  of  the  people  of  New  Mexico 
by  representatives  in  convention  assembled: 

"We,  the  i)eople  of  New  Mexico,  respectfully  pe- 
tition Congress  for  the  speedy  organization  of  a  ter- 
ritorial civil  government. 

"We  respectfully  j)etition  Congress  to  establish 
a  government  j)urely  civil  in  its  character. 

''We  respectfully  rejjresent  that  the  organic  and 
statute  law  jiromulgated  under  military  orders  of  Sep- 
tember 22,  1X40,  with  some  alterations  would  be  ac- 
ceptable. 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  155 

^'We  desire  that  the  followinji;  offices  be  filled  by 
api)ointineiit  of  the  President,  by  and  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  Senate,  the  Governor,  Secretary  of 
State,  Judges,  United  States  Attorney  and  United 
States  Marshal. 

"We  desire  to  have  all  the  usual  rights  of  appeal 
from  the  courts  of  the  territory  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States. 

"We  respectfully  but  firmly  protest  against  the 
dismemberment  of  our  territory  in  favor  of  Texas  or 
from  any  cause. 

"We  do  not  desire  to  have  domestic  slavery  within 
our  borders;  and,  until  the  time  shall  arrive  for  ad- 
mission into  the  union  of  states,  we  desire  to  be  pro- 
tected by  Congress  against  the  introduction  of  slaves 
into  the  territory. 

"We  desire  a  local  legislature,  such  as  is  pre- 
scribed by  the  laws  of  New  Mexico,  September  22, 
1846,  subject  to  the  usual  veto  of  Congress. 

"We  desire  that  our  interests  be  represented  by 
a  delegate  admitted  to  a  seat  in  Congress. 

"Considering  that  New  Mexico  has  a  population 
of  from  75,000  to  100,000,  we  believe  our  request  to  be 
reasonable,  and  we  confidently  rely  upon  Congress  to 
provide  New  Mexico  with  laws  as  liberal  as  those 
enjoyed  by  any  of  the  territories. 

(Signed)  Santiago  Archuleta, 

Antonio  J  Martinez,  James  Quinn. 

Elias  P.  West,  Manuel  A.  Otero, 

Donaciano  Vigil,  Gregorio  Vigil, 

Francisco  Sarracino,  Ramon  Luna, 

Juan  Perea,  Charles  Beaubien, 

Antonio  Sais,  Jose  Pley. 

Santa  F6,  October  14,  1848." 


loG  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

Tho  records  of  the  debates  in  conjjress,  the  mes- 
sages of  the  president  of  the  United  States,  all  show 
that  there  was  at  this  time,  at  Washington,  an  almost 
endless  discussion  of  the  true  status  of  New  Mexico. 
The  })etiti(ui  from  the  people  of  the  Territory  accom- 
])lished  nothing,  and,  in  the  course  of  another  year, 
a  second  convention  was  called,  which  met  in  Santa 
Fe  in  September.  1849.  This  convention  adopted  a 
l)lan  of  territorial  government  and  urged  its  adoi)tion 
by  congress,  and  elected  Hugh  N.  Smith  as  delegate 
to  congress,  but  that  body  refused  to  admit  him  to  a 
seat. 

To  quote  a  contemporary  writer,  *^\bout  this  time 
two  oj)p()site  parties  sprang  up,  one  in  favor  of  a  state, 
and  the  other  of  a  territorial  form  of  government, 
which  engendered  a  great  deal  of  excitement  and  ill 
feeling.  Several  large  i)ublic  meetings  were  held  by 
the  resi)e<tive  parties  at  Santa  F^'.  The  agitation  of 
a  state  government  originated  with  the  national  ad- 
ministration. In  the  spring  of  1849  James  S.  Calhoun 
went  to  New  Mexico  as  Indian  agent,  but,  upon  his 
arrival,  he  declared  that  he  had  secret  instructions 
from  the  government  at  Washington  to  induce  the 
people  to  form  a  state  government.  The  matter  con 
tinned  to  be  discussed  without  much  effect  in  favor 
of  the  state  until  the  spring  of  LSoO,  when  Col.  Ceorge 
A.  McCall  arrived  fiom  the  states  u]»oii  a  mission 
like  Calhouirs.  He  informed  the  pectple  that  no  ter- 
ritorial government  wouhl  be  granted  by  Congress, 
and  that  President  Taylor  was  determined  that  New 
Mexico  should  be  erected  into  a  state  government,  in 
Older  to  settle  the  (luestion  (»f  slavery  and  also  that 


OF    THE    TERIUTOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  157 

of  the  boniidary  of  Texas.  The  delegate  in  Congress, 
Mv.  t^niitli,  wi'ote  home  to  the  same  effect."''^ 

The  President  of  tlie  United  States,  Zacliary  Tay- 
lor, was  in  favor  of  the  immediate  admission  of  Cali- 
fornia and  New  Mexico  as  states.  He  advised  the  peo- 
I)le  of  New  Mexico  to  make  application,  being  actuated 
by  an  earnest  desire  to  give  to  Congress  an  opportunity 
of  avoiding  occasions  of  bitter  and  angry  dissensions 
among  the  people  of  the  entire  country.  In  a  message 
to  Congress  he  asserted  that  ''under  the  constitution 
every  state  has  the  right  of  establishing  and,  from  time 
to  time,  altering,  its  municipal  laws  and  domestic  in- 
stitutions, independently  of  ever}-  other  state  and  of 
the  general  government,  subject  only  to  the  prohibitions 
and  guaranties  expressly  set  forth  in  the  Constitution." 
He  maintained  that  these  subjects  were  left  exclusively 
to  the  respective  states,  and  were  not  designed  to 
become  subjects  of  national  agitation,  meaning  the 
slavery  question.  That  this  question  had  arisen  after 
the  acquisition  of  all  new  territory,  and  that  the  excite- 
ment throughout  the  land,  at  former  periods,  upon  this 
question,  would  again  obtain,  so  far  as  California  and 
New  Mexico  were  concerned,  until  they  were  admitted 
as  states  or  organized  into  territories,  and  that,  under 
all  the  circumstances,  he  believed  it  his  duty  to  put  the 
matter  before  the  congress,  so  that  the  admission  of 
New  Mexico  and  California  as  states  would  remove  all 
occasion  for  the  unnecessary  agitation  of  the  public 
mind.^*' 

On  the  subject  of  the  claims  made  by  Texas  to  a 
very  large  portion  of  what  is  now  New  Mexico,  Presi- 


'^^W.  H.  H.  Davis. 

^•^Message  of  President  Taylor,  January  4,  1850. 


158  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

(lent  Taylor  was  of  the  opinion  that  if  tlie  people  of 
New  Mexico  had  formed  a  plan  of  a  state  government, 
as  ceded  under  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  and 
had  been  admitted  as  a  state,  the  courts  of  the  United 
States  would  have  had  jurisdiction  in  the  matter  of 
determining  the  boundaries,  but  inasmuch  as  New 
Mexico  had  not  been  admitted,  it  was  the  duty  of  Con- 
gress to  devise  some  method  for  the  adjustment  of  the 
boundary  question.  He  did  not  express  an  opinion 
upon,  but  submitted  to  congress,  the  question  whether 
it  would  be  most  expedient  before  such  adjustment  to 
establish  a  territorial  form  of  government  for  New 
Mexico,  which,  by  including  the  district  claimed  by 
Texas,  would  practically  decide  the  claims  of  that  state 
adversely  to  her,  or,  by  excluding  the  district,  would 
decide  in  her  favor.  President  Taylor  believed  that 
such  a  course  would  not  be  expedient,  for  the  reason 
that  New  Mexico  was  at  the  time  enjoying  the  benefit 
and  protection  of  the  laws  and  had  a  large  military 
force  stationed  at  various  jioints  which  were  a  protec- 
tion against  the  Indians.  He  could  not  see  that  any 
material  difference  would  result  to  New  Mexico  for  the 
want  of  a  government  established  by  congress  for  only 
a  brief  period,  his  reason  being  based  upon  the  opinion 
that  New  Mexico  would  shortly  ai)ply  for  admission 
into  the  Union  as  a  state.  During  all  the  period  of 
American  occupation,  up  to  the  time  when  the  question 
of  the  west  boundary  of  the  state  of  Texas  was  deter- 
mined, the  military  authorities  at  Santa  F6  paid  no 
attention  whatever  to  the  claims  of  Texas  and  would 
not  recognize  the  attempt  on  the  jiart  of  that  state  to 
extend  tli<'  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  Texas  over  the 
disputed  territory.     The  State  of  Texas,  in  1850,  sent 


OF    TIIK    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  159 

a  special  commissioner  to  Santa  F<^,  with  full  power 
and  instructions  to  extend  the  civil  jurisdiction  of  the 
State  over  what  the  Texas  legislature  had  seen  fit  to 
designate  as  the  ''unorganized  counties  of  El  Paso, 
Worth,  Presidio  and  Santa  F^."  Upon  arrival  at  Santa 
F<^,  the  Texan  commissioner  met  with  opposition  to  his 
puri)ose  by  the  military  authorities.  The  four  counties 
named  covered  all  of  the  territory  east  of  the  Eio 
Grande,  which  prior  to  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hi- 
dalgo, had  been  regarded  by  Mexico,  and  by  the  people 
living  within  the  limits  indicated,  as  an  essential  and 
integral  j^art  of  the  department  of  New  Mexico,  and 
actually  governed  and  jjossessed  by  her  people,  until 
conquered  by  General  Kearny  and  severed  from  the 
Mexican  republic  by  force  of  American  arms. 

President  Millard  Fillmore  declared  that  these 
claims  and  acts,  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  of  the 
state  of  Texas,  were  such  as  to  demand  immediate  at- 
tention on  the  part  of  all  branches  of  the  general  gov- 
ernment and  feared  that  a  crisis  might  ensue,  which 
would  necessitate  the  summoning  of  the  two  houses  of 
congress,  and  compel,  also,  immediate  action  on  the 
part  of  the  executive  branch  of  the  government. 

The  governor  of  the  state  of  Texas  was  notified  by 
the  president  that  New  Mexico  was  a  Territory  of  the 
United  States,  with  the  same  extent  and  the  same 
boundaries  which  belonged  to  it  while  in  the  actual 
possession  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  before  the  treaty 
of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo.  The  president  defined  his  posi- 
tion in  the  following  language :°'  "The  executive  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  has  no  power  or  authority 
to  determine  what  was  the  true  line  of  boundarv  be- 


'^'Message  of  President  Taylor. 


IGO  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

twoen  Mexico  and  the  Ignited  States  before  the  Treaty 
of  Ouadalui)e  Hidalgo,  nor  has  it  any  snch  j)o\ver  now, 
since  the  question  has  become  a  question  between  the 
State  of  Texas  and  tlie  United  States.  So  far  as  this 
boundary  is  doubtful,  that  doubt  can  only  be  removed 
by  some  act  of  congress,  to  which  the  assent  of  the 
State  of  Texas  may  he  necessary,  or  by  some  ai)i)ro- 
priate  mode  of  legal  adjudication;  but,  in  the  mean- 
time, if  disturbances  or  collisions  arise  or  should 
be  threatened,  it  is  absolutely  incumbent  on  the 
executive  government,  however  ])ainful  the  duty,  to 
take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  maintained;  and 
he  can  regard  only  the  actual  state  of  things  as  it  ex- 
isted at  the  date  of  the  treaty,  and  is  bound  to  protect 
all  the  inhabitants,  who  were  then  established  and  who 
now  remain,  north  and  east  of  the  line  of  demarcation, 
in  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  liberty  and  ])roj)erty, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  ninth  article  of  the 
treaty.  In  other  words,  all  must  be  now  regarded  as 
New  Mexico  which  was  possessed  and  occupied  as  New 
Mexico,  by  citizens  of  ^lexico,  at  the  date  of  the  treaty, 
until  a  definite  line  of  boundary  shall  be  established  by 
competent  authority." 

The  importance  of  immediate  action  by  the  con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  in  the  settlement  of  this 
boundary  question,  was  most  a|)parent.  All  considera- 
tions of  justice,  general  expediency  and  domestic  tran- 
(juility  demanded  it.  It  was  seen  that  no  government 
could  1)6  established  for  New  Mexico,  either  state  or  ter- 
I'itorial,  until  it  was  ascertained  just  what  New  Mexico 
was.  and  what  were  her  rightful  limits  and  boundaries, 
and  the  president  recommended  to  congress  that  the 
general  government  ''would  be  justified  in  allowing  an 


Ol'    'PI  IK    TKRUrrOKV    OK    NKW     IMEXIf'O.  101 

indoiimity  to  Texns  no!  uiircasonahlc  or  oxtravaf»ant, 
but  fair  and  libcial,  and  awarded  in  a  just  spirit  of 
acconiniodal  ion." 

On  the  D'th  day  of  So|)t('nd)er,  1S50,  the  congress  of 
tlie  United  Slates  jiassed  an  act  entitled  "An  Act  ])ro- 
])Osing  to  tlie  F.'tat(!  of  Texas  the  establislinient  of  her 
northern  and  western  boundaries,  tlie  relin(iuishnient 
by  the  said  stale  of  all  territory  clainted  by  her  exterior 
to  said  boundaries,  and  of  all  her  claims  upon  the 
United  States,  and  to  establish  a  Territorial  (Jovern- 
nient  for  Xew  Mexico.'- 

On  the  2"th  day  of  Xovendier  following,  the  State 
of  Texas  agreed  to  and  acce])ted  the  ])ropositions  con 
tained  in  this  act,  and,  from  common  sources  of  j)ublic 
information,  a  very  remarkable  degree  of  unanimity 
pi'evailed,  not  only  in  the  legislature,  but  among  the 
peojtle  of  Texas,  in  res])ect  to  the  lia})])y  solution  of  the 
difiticulties  which  had  confrcmted  the  nation. 

The  ditliculties  felt  and  the  dangers  apj)rehended 
from  the  vast  acquisition  of  tcM-ritory  undei'  the  treaty 
with  Mexico  were  overcome  by  the  wisdom  of  congress 
in  the  passage  of  the  act  of  Seittend)er  9,  1S50. 

There  were  many  rival  politicians  in  Xew  ^Mexico 
during  this  period,  some  of  them  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary ability,  the  more  ])rominent  being  Hugh  X.  Smith. 
\\'illiam  Z.  Angney.  Richard  Hanson  ^^'eightman,  Ceran 
St.  A^rain,  ^\'.  S.  Messervy.  Joab  iroughton,  ITenry  Con- 
nelly. IManuel  Alvarez  and  James  IT.  Quinn.  These 
])oliticians  were  in  constant  warfare.  Senator  Thomas 
H.  Benton  was  an  ardent  •sui)i)orter  of  the  civil  gov- 
ernment for  Xew  Mexico,  as  against  the  military 
regime,  and  he  counseled  the  X"ew  Mexicans  "to  meet 
in   convention,   ])rovide  cheap   and  simple  government 


1(>2  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

and  take  caic  of  youisclves  until  Con<;ie><s  can  i)rovide 
for  vou."  The  }ioo])Io  wlio  had  come  from  the  states 
of  the  t'nion  did  not  take  kindly  lo  the  rule  of  a  mili- 
tary commander  in  time  of  i)eace.  To  them  a  jijovern- 
meiit  of  this  sort  was  intolerable,  and  tl.e  only  ques- 
tion for  determination  for  them  was  the  securinj:;  of  a 
strictly  civil  form  of  jiovernment  at  the  earliest  ]H)h- 
sible  moment.  The  situation  was  ap;gravat(>d  by  the 
a{){)arent  subserviency  of  the  so-called  judicial  branch 
of  the  j^overnment  to  the  orders,  will,  whims  and  ca- 
prices of  the  military  commander  and  his  subordinates. 

The  state  movement  was  set  on  foot  by  sixteen 
civilians,  citizens  of  the  I'nited  States,  some  Demo- 
crats and  some  Whigs,  some  natives  of  soutliern  and 
some  of  northern  states.  The  address  prepared  by  them 
appeared  in  the  columns  of  a  Santa  Fe  newsj)aper""' 
and  was  re])lied  to  by  a  counter  address  in  the  columns 
of  the  same  ])aj)er.  signed  by  sixty-two  other  civilians, 
among  whom  were  included  all  the  judges  of  the  cir- 
cuit courts,  the  jn-efects,  tlie  slieritFs,  the  alcalde-!  and. 
in  fact,  the  gr<'at  body  of  the  oflrtcers  of  the  civil  gov- 
ernment of  the  military  commandei-,  all  of  whom  held 
their  offices  at  his  absolute  will  and  pleasure.'*' 

The  state  mov<Miient  was  by  them  denounced  as  a 
factious  mov(  inent  and  the  movers  as  the  ^^Mvarez  fac- 
tion." As  the  mov('ment  progressed  it  was  discovered 
thai  the  military  commander  had  a  decided  leaning 
toward  the  t(rrit<)rial  party;  indeed  his  acts  were  de- 
cidedly ]>arti/.an  and  against  the  state  party. 

The  state  party  tiium|)hed  in  the  election,  and  this 
was  accomjtlished  despite  the  |)artisan  acts  of  the  mili- 

'Wew  Mexican,  Decern  her  8,  1849. 

•I.etter  of  R.  H.  Weightman,  October  7,  1850— Cong.  Globe. 
32(1  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  page  324. 


OF    TIIIO    TKUKirOKY    OF    MOW     .MFXICO.  1(13 

larv  coimiKmdcr.  dcsjdlc  the  almost  uiianiinous  oj»|)()si- 
lioii  of  llie  ju(lj;('S,  ]!ief<'cls,  alcaldes  and  others,  wlio 
hehl  iheir  ollic cs  at  tlie  will  and  ])leasui'e  of  the  mili- 
tary eommand(M'  and  despite  Ihe  vote  of  the  employes 
of  tlie  quartermaster's  department. 

The  Le«>islative  Assembly,  which  convened  after 
this  election  was  held,  memorialized  the  con<2,i'ess  of 
the  United  States,  <>ivin*i;  expression  to  sentiments  of 
no  uncertain  kind,  and  are  rei)roduced  as  showin<>'  the 
feeling  of  tlie  majority  of  the  j;eople  of  New  INIexico 
at  that  time.     This  memorial  is  as  follows: 

''Tlie  inhabitants  of  Xew  ^lexieo,  since  February 
2,  1S4S,  have  j>i*oaned  nnd(n'  a  harsh  law,  foi-ced  upon 
them  in  time  of  war,  when  they  were  thon^ht  nnde- 
servino-  of  confidence. 

''The  military  is  independent  of  and  superior  to 
the  civil  power, 

"The  inhabitants  have  no  voice  or  influence  in 
makin<>'  the  laws  by  which  they  are  governed. 

"Some  ])ower,  other  than  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  has  made  judges  dependent  on  its  will 
alone  for  the  tenure  of  their  ottices,  and  the  amount 
and  ])ayment  of  their  salaries. 

"Some  ])ower,  other  than  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  has  subjected  us  to  a  jurisdiction  for- 
eign to  the  constitution  and  unacknowledged  by  our 
laws. 

''We  are  taxed  without  oui-  consent,  and  taxes, 
Avhen  collected,  are  not  a])]>lied  to  tlie  public  benefit, 
but  embezzled  by  officers  irres])nnsil)le  to  the  peo])le. 

"No  ])ublic  oflicer  in  Xew  Mexico  is  res])onsible  to 
tlie  people.  Judges,  unlearned  in  the  law.  decide  n\)ou 
life,   liberty   and  property.     Prefects  and  alcaldes  im- 


104  THK    MILITAUV    OCCUrATION 

pose  fiiK's  iuid  incarcoi'ato  without  tlio  intorvontion  of 
a  jury. 

"Alcaldes  assail  iho  rijilits  of  llic  ii<*o]»U'  fi-cely  who 
cxcrciso  tluMi-  rclijiion  without  roslrict iou.  aud  dictate 
to  conjii-ej^atioiis  what  priest  shall  administer  the  sae- 
rauients  of  the  chui'ch. 

"The  full  extent  of  the  ]»owor  to  <<uitiol  and  in- 
jure, which  this  uni-estrained  and  orf;ani/.ed  band  of 
office  holders  wielded  (an  onl.v  be  entirely  understood 
when  it  is  known  that  the  military  commander  held 
to  no  accountability  civil  oftiiers  charfjed  with  assaults 
upon  the  relijfion  of  the  country  and  embezzleinei't  of 
the  public  funds. 

''The  influence  of  the  quai'termaster's  <le]»artmenf 
in  the  elections  was  by  no  means  an  incon*<iderable  one. 
With  its  army  of  employes,  witli  its  conti'a*  ts  to  let. 
with  its  ajjencies  to  jturchase  the  entire  surplus  of  the 
coi'u  and  fora<j;e  of  the  country,  and  with  its  easy 
means  of  communication  by  exju-ess  at  jjovernment  ex- 
pense, it  pr:»ved  itself  very  formidalde;  and  this  inlin- 
ence.  with  some  honoi'able  excejttions,  was  thrown 
afjainst  the  state  party. 

"This  web  of  iTiJluiiKc,  <*xtendin<i  to  the  frontiers 
of  New  .Mexico,  was,  like  the  other,  organized,  and, 
like  il.  also  casi!\  i>;  ii;"((l  ficun  the  (enter;  and  the 
nianajicrs  of  both  webs  were  actiui;  in  con(<M-t,  and.  as 
has  ah-eidy  been  lold.  a/.!ains|  the  slate  party. 

"Al  this  lime  tl.'ere  was  available  only  one  |)rint- 
inji  press  in  tre  entire  counti-y.  and  it  belonjied  to  the 
j.'(»vernm('iil.  'i'his  |>ress  was  sold  and  fell  into  th<> 
hands  of  the  (ei-i-itorial  party.  It  was  used  solely  for 
llie  a(l\  aiK  (Miicnl  cf  Ihe  interests  of  that  faction,  and, 
bein<:  owned    b\    an   arm\    sutlei-  and   c(»ntractor,  and 


OF  'nil:  TioituiTOUY  OF  m:\v   mfxico.  1(55 

edited  by  Judge  lTou*>litoii  and  the  cliief  clerk  of  the 
(liiai'teniiiister,  all  coiiniuinicalions  of  the  State  ])arty 
were  excluded  from  the  columns  of  the  ])aper.  That 
party  could  not  secure  the  i)rinting'  of  its  ballots,  and 
upwards  of  twenty  thousand  tickets,  issued  by  the 
State  party,  were  written  out  by  hand. 

"With  the  press  against  the  state  party,  the  office 
holders  against  it  and  the  moneyed  interests  of  the 
government  against  it,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  state 
movement  was  born  of  or  grew  to  manhood  by  Execu- 
tive influence.  It  appears  clearly  that  the  voice  of  the 
people,  as  expressed  by  their  ballots,  made  itself  heard 
under  very  difficult  circumstances.*"^ 

Many  charges  were  preferred,  b}'  men  of  conse- 
quence, against  the  so-called  civil  government.  These 
charges  were  filed  with  the  commanding  general,  Mun- 
roe.  but  he  paid  small  attention  to  them;  in  fact, 
ignored  them.  The  controversies  between  individuals 
Avere  of  the  most  dangerous  sort;  the  language  used  in 
the  trial  of  cases,  directed  to  the  court,  was  of  a  most 
vituperative  character.  Chief  Justice  Houghton  seems 
to  have  been  the  unfortunate  individual  against  whom 
was  hurled  charges,  which,  if  they  were  true,  ought  to 
have  subjected  him  to  trial  for  almost  every  crime 
known  to  the  law. 

In  December.  1849,  Kicliard  Hanson  Weightnmn. 
an  attorney  ])ra(ticing  in  Judge  Houghton's  court,  and 
the  successful  candidate  for  delegate  to  congress  in  the 
election  of  1851,  filed  Avitli  the  commanding  officer  the 
following  statement,  which  is  a  most  interesting  docu- 
ment : 


""Letter  of  R,   H.  Weightman— 32d  Cong.,  1st   Sess.,   page 
325. 


1(U)  J  UK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

"Influoncod.  sir,  b.v  diit.v  and  inclination.  T  lay 
before  yon  eliai'ges  of  a  most  serions  natnre  ajjainst 
the  hi<i:hest  jndicial  officer  in  this  Territory — Jndjje 
•Toal)  Honghton ;  char«ies  so  serions  that,  if  true,  it  is 
an  act  of  mere  justice  to  the  community  that  he  should 
be  removed  from  office. 

"In  consequence  of  peculiar,  aj!;itating  and  danjjer- 
ous  questions  which  now  exist  in  the  United  States, 
it  has  been  tliouj>;ht  |)ro])er,  and  even  patriotic,  in  Con- 
gress, to  withhold  from  us  a  territorial  organization, 
which,  exce])t  for  the  agitating  (piestions  there  exist- 
ing, we  would  doubtless  long  since  have  obtained. 

"As  it  is,  a  dc  facto  govei'nment  obtains  here  of  a 
most  anomalous  character,  having  no  ])arallel  in  our 
history,  oj)i)osed  to  tlie  spirit  and  genius  of  our  insti- 
tutions and  laws,  and  unrecognized  by  any  competent 
authority. 

"This  government  dc  facto  was  established  under 
the  laws  and  usages  of  war;  and,  ujmn  the  conclusion 
of  the  })ea<e,  February  2,  1S48,  having  been  found  in 
existence  here,  to  prevent  anarchy,  continues  by  the 
acquiescence  of  the  au<h()rity,  whatever  it  may  be. 
wliich  is  comj)etent  to  change  it, 

"Under  this  government,  as  it  actually  exists,  the 
(^Jovernor  exercises  military,  executive  and  legislative 
functions. 

''To  show  that  he  has  exercised  legislative  fimc- 
tions.  T  make  reference  to  Order  No.  10,  dated  Febru- 
aiy  n.  1S4S,  laying  duties  and  taxes,  providing  for  their 
(■(•llection  and  for  the  ])ayment  of  salaries,  creating 
(illiccs,  etc.''"^ 

"^^'Ordpr  No.  10  was  marie  by  General  Sterling  Price. 


OF    TIIK    TEUKITOKY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  107 

T  ];i-('siiiiu\  liowovcr,  that  no  ai'^niiiciit  is  necessary 
to  ]>rove  llial  the  (Jovei-nor  has  Ihe  ])o\vei',  under  this 
government,  as  it  actually  exists,  wiiether  leji,ally  or 
nol.  to  relieve  the  comniunity  of  a  corrupt,  i<;norant 
or  objectionable  judj;(\ 

In  niakin<;  charges,  it  is  necessary  to  be  })recise, 
and  to  enter  into  particulars;  other\vis(\  the  accused 
will  have  just  cause  to  conqtlain  that  he  is  tried  on 
charges  wliich  ai'c  undetined,  and  to  which,  therefore, 
it  is  not  possible  to  make  a  dt^fense. 

Thou<>]i  by  enterin<>-  into  uni)leasant,  thouf>li  neces 
sary,  details,  I  may,  in  the  eyes  of  the  undiscerning, 
a])])ear  to  want  good  taste,  I  shall  not  refrain  from  so 
doing;  ]U'eferring  ratlier  to  deserve  this  censure  than 
to  subject  myself  to  th<'  cliarge  of  concealing  from  the 
accused  that  which  is  brought  against  him. 

In  the  form,  then,  of  charges  and  specifications, 
I  accuse  Judge  Joab  Hougliton  as  follows: 

Charge  1st.  His  conduct  has  been  characterized 
by  breaclies  of  faith  of  su(di  a  nature  that  the  con- 
tinuation of  him,  in  so  elevated  and  res])onsible  a 
station,  can  but  have  the  effect  of  lowering,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  ])ublic,  the  standard  of  American  character. 

Specification  1st.  It  has  been  substantiated  in  a 
court,  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  jury,  that  he  has  re- 
ceived, as  the  ag(»nt  of  Colcord  and  Hall,  a  sum  of 
money  exceeding  three  thousand  dollars,  and  not  paid 
the  same  to  his  ])rincipals. 

Specification  2nd.  He  has  received  money,  as  the 
agent  of  East  and  .Vnderson,  for  the  specific  purpose 
of  paying  duties  under  oi-der  No.  10,  of  date  February 
5,  1S48,  and,  instead  of  paying  the  money  into  the 
hands  of  the  collector,  placed  therein,  in  lieu  of  money, 


168  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

his  audited  accounts  for  his  salary  as  judge,  which 
accounts  were  received  as  cash,  and,  subsequently, 
when  that  ])art  of  Order  No.  10,  j)ayin<j:  and  collectinj; 
of  duties,  was  annulled,  he  withdrew  said  audited 
accounts  from  the  hands  of  the  collector,  and  re])laccd 
the  bonds  of  East  and  Anderson,  which  said  bonds 
are  now  in  the  hands  of  the  collector  and  the  niouey 
of  East  and  Anderson  in  the  hands  of  Judj;e  Houghton. 
Specification  3rd.  That  on  or  about  the  IDtli  day 
of  June.  1848,  he  was  engaged  in  business  as  a  mer- 
chant, being  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  E.  Leitensdorfer 
&  Company;  that  about  that  date  the  firm  of  Leitens 
dorftr  &  Coinpan}'  introduced  into  Santa  Fe  goods, 
the  original  cost  of  which,  including  the  ofttftt,  was  not 
less  than  |100,000;  that  subsequently,  on  or  about 
the  21st  day  of  Septend)er,  E.  Leitensdorfer  and  Joab 
Houghton  dissolved  partnershij);  that,  on  oj'  about 
that  date  E.  Leitensdorfer  left  Santa  F^'',  appointing 
Joab  Houghton  his  agent  and  attorney  for  the  trans- 
action of  business;  that,  on  or  about  the  11th  day  of 
December,  1848,  E.  Leitensdorfer  made  an  assignment 
of  all  his  effects,  for  the  benefit  of  his  creditors;  that 
the  elfects  assigned  amounted  to  about  |4(),0(H)  and 
the  ascertained  debts  of  the  firm  to  more  than  fllf),- 
00();  that  between  the  dates.  June  19th  and  December 
11th,  E.  Leitensdorfer  was.  for  the  greater  or  a  great 
part  of  the  time,  absent  from  Santa  F(^,  the  place  of 
the  house  of  business  of  the  firm,  and  that  the  deficit 
is  not  accounted  for;  but  nearly  all.  if  not  all,  of  the 
goods  taken  south  for  sale  by  the  said  Leitensdorfer 
are  accounted  for.  while  the  part  left  in  Santa  Fe. 
geiieiiillv  under  the  charge  of  said   Houghton,  is  the 


OF    TIIK    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  109 

part  not  accounted  for;  and  lliat  this  failure  is  fraudu- 
lent and  .lu(l<;-e  Houjililon  guilty  of  the  fraud. 

S})eciti(ation  4th.  So  much  of  the  specifications 
under  charj^c  2nd  and  '.Ud  as  nuiy  be  api)licable  to  this 
charge. 

(  harj^c  I'nd.  His  occu]>yin<;-  his  ]>osition  on  the 
bench  amounts  to  a  denial  of  justice  in  a  larj;e  class 
of  cases. 

Specification  1st.  The  case  of  Campbell  vs.  Leit- 
ensdorfer  &  Co.,  invoIvin<;  about  $8,000,  was  brought 
by  attachment,  based  ujfon  an  affidavit  of  fraud,  on 
the  2Gth  day  of  ^lay,  184!),  and  was  in  due  course  for 
trial  at  the  June  term  of  that  year,  but  could  not  be 
tried  because  the  Judge  was  interested;  it  could  not 
be  tried  at  the  October  term  for  the  same  reason,  and 
cannot  be  tried  for  the  same  reasons,  under  existing 
circumstances,  so  long  as  Judge  Houghton  occui)ies 
his  jiresent  position. 

Specification  2nd.  The  case  of  Kelly  vs.  Leitens- 
dorfer  &  Co.,  involving  about  .$8,000,  based  on  affi- 
davit of  fi-aud,  was  filed  June  IJOth,  1849,  and  was  for 
trial  in  due  course  at  the  last  October  term,  but  could 
not  be  tried,  and  cannot  be  tried,  for  the  same  reason 
as  above. 

Sjiecification  :>rd.  The  case  of  Welsh  vs.  T.eitens- 
dorfer  &  Co..  involving  about  |8.000,  based  on  affi- 
davit of  fraud,  was  filed  June  3,  1849,  and  was  for 
trial  in  due  course,  at  the  last  October  term,  but  could 
not.  and  cannot  be  tried  for  the  reasons  set  forth  in 
Specification  1st,  of  this  charge. 

"S];(M-ification  4th.  There  are  now,  in  the  hands 
of  the  undersigned,  liabilities  of  the  firm  of  Leitens 
dorfer  >S:  Company  and  bills  against  it  for  the  gross 


170  TIIK    MILITAKY    OCCUPATION 

sum  of  ^.'), <■»,")!>. 7((.  to  recover  which  six  suits  will  bo 
necessaiy;  but  have  not  tiled  suits  because  he  has  not 
been  able  to  discover  iu'oj)erty  of  that  firm,  the  court 
luivinji;:  declared  that  it  will  adjudicate  no  ])oint  about 
which  there  is  a  contest. 

"S|iecification  5th.  There  is  now  in  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Hi^jis.  by  the  ajjreenient  of  all  the  parties  to  the 
suits,  a  lar<;e  sum  of  money  bidin};  their  issue,  and 
must  thei-e  remain  until  they  are  decided,  to  the  <;reat 
dama<;('  of  the  own(  is  thereof. 

"Specification  Gth.  There  ar<?  a  number  of  other 
creditors  of  E.  Leitt^isdcufer  &  ('omi>any  who  would 
brin<;  suits,  if  they  l)eliev(  d  justice  c(nild  be  obtained. 

"Specification  Tth.  liy  the  death  or  j:;<»infj;  away 
of  imjtortant  witnesses  the  ends  of  justice,  which 
are  now  delayed,  n)ay  be  entii-ely  defeated. 

"Sjccification  Stli.  So  much  of  tlie  specifications 
under  charjics  1st  and  L'nd  as  may  be  applicable  to 
this  char<^e. 

'•C'harjre  .'ird.  I<::norance  of  law  and  disrejjard  to 
his  obli<iations  as  a  jud^e. 

"Specification  1st.  Kefore  trial,  out  of  couit.  he 
has  exji-essed  the  ojrinion  that  a  man  about  t(>  b<*  tried 
for  his  life  was  a  murdei-ei*. 

"SjM'cification  iMid.  lie  has  admitted  to  bail  the 
man  whom  Ik-  said  was  a  murderer. 

•'SjK'cilicalion  ^{rd.  Tie  has  written  articles  in  the 
Santa  F*'  Hepnblican  con(('rninf!:  a  jioint  of  law.  abont. 
in  due  couise.  to  come  before  him  for  decision,  on 
which  dejiended  a  larjie  class  of  cases  involving'  a  sum 
of   money,   exceedin.i:   SSO.OOO. 

'•Specitiralion  4tli.  Had  he  adjudicated  on  the 
1m  iidi  ;is  lie  adjudicated  in  the  n<'WS]»ai»ei-s  he  would 
lia\('  been   benefited   by  the  adjudication. 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  171 

''S}>ecifieatioii  5tli.  At  a  inoeting  of  the  bar,  held 
in  the  eity  of  Santa  Fe.  on  or  about  the  20th  of  July, 
1X4!).  at  which  nieclinj;  were  present  Messrs.  Sniilh, 
Tally.  Anj^ney,  \\'heaton.  West,  Pillans,  Ashurst, 
lieach.  Hall  and  ^^'ei<>•htnlan,  the  (juestion  was  dis- 
cussed as  to  the  projiriety  of  invitinj;-  •Iud<j;-e  Houghton 
to  resign;  at  this  meeting,  it  was  the  opinion  of  all 
the  members  present,  that  he  was  incompetent  to  fill 
the  ottice,  and  eight  of  their  number  signed  a  letter, 
requesting  liim  to  resign,  two  of  them  declining  to 
sign  the  letter  on  personal  gi-ounds;  the  two  who  de- 
clined being  IVIessrs.  Smith  and  Hall. 

"Specification  6tli.  So  much  of  the  specifications 
of  charges  1st  and  2nd  as  may  be  ai)plicable  to  charge 
:3rd. 

"The  witnesses  to  prove  the  above  charges  and 
specifications  are  at  ];resent  in  New  Mexico;  how  long 
(hey  will  remain  there  it  is  impossible  to  say. 

1  have  to  request,  therefore,  as  (^arly  notice  as 
possible  may  be  afforded  me  that  an  investigation  may 
be  had;  the  commission,  or  whatever  other  body  to 
\vh(un  tin  s(^  chai'ges,  etc..  may  be  referred,  should 
have  i)Ower  to  send  for  persons  and  papers. 

''With  much  regret  that  I  have  to  trouble  you 
with  so  disagreeable  a  matter.  I  am.  sir.  very  res])ect- 
fully.  your  obedient  servant, 

"R.  H.  WEIGHT:\rAN. 
"Brevet  Colonel  John  ^lunroe. 

''Civil  and  Military  (Governor  of  New  ^lexico."' 

Judge  Houghton  was  notified  by  ^fajor  Weight - 
man  of  the  fact  that  these  charges  had  been  preferred 
against  him  and  was  advised  that  if  he  did  not  sub 
stautiate  the  charges  as  made,  he  would  freely  and 


172  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

cheerfully  retract  them.  The  distinguished  gentleman, 
however,  declined  an  investigation,  but  immediately 
sent  a  challenge  to  Major  Weightman.  Colonel  Mun- 
roe  declined  to  entertain  the  charges  and  nothing 
oflBcially  was  done  by  him  in  relation  thereto. 

The  challenge,  in  its  wording,  ignores  the  charges 
as  filed  with  Colonel  Munroe,  but  accuses  Weightman 
of  having  slandered  Judge  Houghton.  The  fact  that 
there  is  no  record  in  New  Mexico  of  the  wording  of  a 
formal  challenge  to  meet  upon  the  ''field  of  honor,"  and 
as  this  course  adopted  by  Judge  Houghton  was  in  a 
sense  an  appeal  to  the  old  English  "wager  of  battle," 
the  exact  language  of  the  challenge  is  worth  record- 
ing, and  follows : 

"Santa  F(?,  September  9,  1S49. 

"Sir:  In  consecjuence  of  slanderous  words  used 
by  you  in  conversation  with  Lieutenant  Taylor,  at  the 
Sutler's  store  in  Albuciuenjue,  with  J.  L.  Hubbell,  Esq., 
at  Socorro,  at  Santa  Fe.  and  generally  throughout  the 

Territory,  within  the  last  few  ,  I  denmiid  of  you 

an  uii('(iui vocal  retraction  of  such  slanders,  or  the  satis- 
faction due  from  one  gentleman  to  another. 

"J.  HOUGHTON. 

"K.  H.  Weightman,  Esq." 

This  letter  brought  forth  a  characteristic  reply 
from  Weightman,  in  which  he  seems  determined  to 
have  the  record  appear  without  a  Haw,  in  giving  j)ub- 
licity  to  his  opinion  of  the  learned  "fountain  of  jus- 
tice," as  he  was  described  by  Weightman  in  a  number 
of  |»ublic  ad<lresses.  This  i-eply  was  directed  to  James 
11.  (2uinii.  !0s(|..  ii  pi  siclicing  attorney  of  Judge  Ilougli- 
toii's  court,  who  acted  as  his  second  in  the  duel  which 
followed       The    letter    to    Quinn    is    interesting.    an<l. 


OF     CUE    TKRIUTOUY    OF    XKW    MEXICO.  IT^i 

while  of  some  length,  should  be  read  in  connection 
with  the  charges  against  Judge  Houghton.  In  this 
letter  ^^'cigh^nlan  says: 

•'Santa  Fe,  September  10,  1849. 

'•Sir:  I  received  at  your  hands  a  note  from  Judge 
Houghton,  of  this  date,  in  which  he  is  ])leased  to  say 
that,  in  consequence  of  words,  which  he  characterizes 
as  slanderous,  used  by  me  to  Lieutenant  Taylor,  in 
Albu(iuer(|ue,  to  J.  L.  Hubbell,  Esq.,  in  Socorro,  at 
Santa  F(',  and  generally  throughout  the  Territory, 
wiihin  llie  last  few  'days'  i  [  suj)i)Ose  was  intended,  a 
word  being  left  out),  he  demands  of  me  an  unequivocal 
retraction  of  such  slanders,  or  the  satisfaction  due 
from  one  gentleman  to  another. 

••JJesides  the  ai)plication  of  the  word  slanderous  to 
my  words,  1  hnxe  an  objection  to  make  to  the  general 
tenor  of  his  note,  which  is  this:  it  leaves  open  the 
inference  that  1  nmde  the  remarks  alluded  to  not  in 
fludge  Hough((in"s  presence.  To  rebut  which  inference, 
I  hav(!  to  say,  that  three  or  four  months  ago,  it  became 
my  duty,  as  counsel  in  the  case  of  Colcord  &  Hall  vs. 
Smith  1).  Town,  to  comnunt  ujion  the  conduct  of  Judge 
Houghton,  in  receiving,  as  agent  of  Colcord  &  Hall,  a 
largo  sum  of  money,  in  the  neighborhood  of  .'|f:),40(J.G0, 
and  not  paying  the  same  over  to  his  principal,  as  it 
was  intended  he  should,  and  as  he  was  trusted  to  do. 
In  my  r( marks  to  the  jury,  the  judge  was  spoken  of  as 
a  faithless  agent,  and  it  may,  perhaps,  not  be  inappro- 
priate to  mention  that  the  jury  found  a  verdict  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  theory  laid  down  l»y  myself  and  the 
other  gentlemen  with  whom  1  \\as  associated  on  that 
occasion.     Judge   Houghton    was   not   j)r(sent    on   this 


174  THE    MILITARY    OCCUTATION 

occasion,  but  niv  remarks  and  tlie  finding  of  the  jurv 
are  matters  of  public  notoiietv. 

"Again,  in  Socorro,  at  which  place  he  refers  to  a 
conversation  with  Mr.  Hubbell,  I  made  the  same,  or 
similar,  remarks  in  a  public  speech  to  the  j)eoi)le, 
Judge  Houghton  being  present,  anfl  distant  perhaps 
six  feet  from  me  at  the  time. 

"I  d(em  this  statement  due  to  myself,  in  ord(  r  to 
make  it  apparent  that  1  have  in  no  wise  secretly  as- 
sailed the  character  of  Judge  Houghton. 

"In  conclusion  I  have  to  say  that  in  consideration 
of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Houghton  occupies  at  this  time 
the  imj)ortant  ]»osition  of  chief  judge  of  this  Territory, 
and  is  recognized  as  a  gentleman  by  persons  of  high 
standing,  yourself  among  the  iiundur,  I  feel  myself  at 
liberty  to  accept  the  latter  of  the  alternatives  he  has 
been  ])leased  to  otTer  me.  1  accept  his  challenge,  and 
will  meet  him  this  day  at  as  early  an  hour  as  can 
'onveniently  be  agreed  n\H)U  between  yourself  and 
file  gentleman  who  will  hand  you  this. 
"\'ery  resj)ectfully,  etc., 

'R.  H.  WEIGHTMAN. 
''JauKs  H.  Quinn.  Es(|." 

This  duel  was  fought  on  the  same  day,  no  blood 
was  shed,  and  while  no  apology  was  offered  by  \Veight- 
man,  the  outcome  of  the  meeting  was  to  a  degree  laugh 
able.  The  jtarlies  nut  in  an  a  novo,  near  the  city  of 
Santa  F('*,  and  when  the  command  "fire"  was  given, 
only  one  shot  was  hcardliiat  from  Weightman's  pis- 
tol, the  bail  from  which  passed  close  to  Houghton's 
ear.  IIonght<iii,  who  was  slightly  deaf,  insisted  that 
he  had  not  heard  the  word  of  command;  Weightmaii 
then  lift(  (1  both  his  hands  in  the  air  and  told  Iloujrhton 


OF    TIIK     TKUIMTOUY    OF    XFW     MEXICO,  175 

to  shoot;  the  seconds  inter])OS('d,  liowever.  and  the 
party  left  the  <»ronnds.  Wei<ihtnian  still  insistin<i;  that 
what  he  liad  said  eoncerninj*'  .Indj^c  Ilonghton  was  the 
truth. 

There  was  a  j^i-cat  <h'al  of  dissatisfaction  in  many 
parts  of  the  Territory,  at  this  time.  <^rowin<;-  ont  of  the 
actions  of  the  so-called  civil  anthorities  concerninj;'  the 
property  and  priests  of  the  Catholic  church.  lOver 
since  the  revolution  of  1S4T,  the  military  commander, 
owing  to  the  belief  which  was  entertained  by  many 
that  prominent  rei)resentativcs  of  the  church  had  been 
cojinizant  of  the  plans  of  the  revolutionists,  and  were 
active  syni])athizers  in  the  movement  which  resulted  in 
the  death  of  (Jovernor  J>ent.  regarded  the  chief  repre- 
sentative of  the  church,  the  Mcario.  Juan  Felipe  Ortiz, 
as  an  enemy  to  the  American  institutions  which  were 
iKMng  gradually  established  by  his  authority.  It  was 
insisted  that  the  rights  of  that  church  freely  to  exercise 
its  functions  were  being  infringed.  Major  NVeightman 
seems  to  have  been  the  friend  of  the  Church,  and  its 
attorney  as  well,  and  on  several  occasions  complaints 
of  a  very  serious  character  were  lodged  with  the  mili- 
tary connnander,  but  no  notice  was  taken  by  him  in 
relation  to  the  same.  The  military  commander  was 
advised  otticially  that  the  Yicario  fully  understood  the 
responsibility  resting  upon  him  to  the  Ignited  States 
government,  but  contended  that  the  Church  should  not 
be  deprived  of  the  "right  freely  to  exercise  its  religion," 
that  right  being  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  The  commander  was  informed  that  the 
Catholic  Church,  as  well  in  New  Mexico  as  in  other 
l)arts  of  the  United  States,  confided  the  care  and  con- 
trol of  all  the  prop!  rty  of  the  church  to  the  Bishop  of 


17«)  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

Iho  I)io(Os«».  The  IJishop  of  Durango  had  ]>huo(l  this 
custody,  caic  and  control  in  the  hands  of  the  ^^icario, 
wlio  was  hekl  responsible  for  the  judicious  exercise  of 
the  j)ower  conferred  ujion  him.  Tliis  law,  custom  and 
usage  of  the  Ciiurcli  was  being  set  aside  by  the  actions 
of  the  civil  autliorities  in  many  ways;  the  limits  of 
jtarislies.  as  arranged  under  tlie  authority  of  the 
Chui'ch,  were  being  altired  by  the  civil  ollicials  with  a 
\  icw  to  their  ideas  as  to  propriety  and  convenience. 
This  was  done,  certainly  so  far  as  the  jiarishes  of 
Socorro,  Albuciuerque.  I>elen  and  Tome  were  conci  rned, 
and  it  was  claimed  that  the  interference  came  from 
the  influence  of  Judge  Antonio  Jose  Otero. 

Don  Donaciano  A'igil.  the  secretary  and  acting 
governor  of  the  Territory,  after  the  diath  of  (}ov(rnor 
l>ent.  issued  an  order  suspen<ling  the  \'icario.  Juan 
l''eli|»e  Ortiz,  from  exercising  his  ecclesiastical  func 
lions;  the  acting  governor  also  thr(at(ii(d  to  banisli  a 
|>riest,  who  Iia<l  the  temerity  to  <leclare  lliat  the  acting 
governor  had  no  jtower  to  do  so.  and.  in  the  end.  advised 
the  ]»riest  to  take  the  first  advantage  of  l.aving  the 
(ounlry. 

One  of  the  alcahh's.  while  the  parish  priest  was 
altscnt.  demaiidid  the  keys  of  the  church  fi-om  tiie 
sacristan  at  Toiik'  and  took  from  it  the  sacr*  d  vest- 
iiienls  and  (oiiseciated  \ases  ami  (lelivered  iheiii  l(» 
Xicojjis  N'alcncia,  a  non-cctnformisi  and  susj»endcd 
priest,  for  the  juirpose  of  <•«  lebrating  a  marriage  and 
mass. 

Another  alcalde  directed  Fr.  lienigno  Cardenas,  a 
noil  ((infoiiiiist.  siispcn(!(  (1  priest,  a  refugee  from  jus- 
tice. i(»  g(»  to  llic  jiarish  of  Tomt'.  and  i-eccivc  without 
cxciiNc  or  |»roiest.  from  Jost;  do  Jesus  I'aca,  the  regu- 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  177 

larly  appointed  priest,  the  delivery  of  tlie  clnirch  prop- 
erty, talving  an  inv(ntory  of  the  same.  The  alcalde, 
who  thus  undertook  to  control  the  affairs  of  his  pre- 
cinct as  well  as  those  of  the  church,  was  Don  Vicente 
Arniijo;  the  word  and  order  of  Don  Vicente  was  most 
effectual,  for  the  Fr.  Cardenas  took  possession  and  the 
Fr.  liaca  was  excluded  from  the  performance  of  his 
priestly  functions.  All  of  these  ousters  were  confirmed 
by  the  appointing  authorities — the  so-called  civil  gov- 
ernor. Vigil,  and  his  superior,  the  military  commander, 
endeavoring  to  correct  the  action  of  the  alcalde,  sent  an 
ofticial  order  to  the  prefect  of  the  county,  Don  Manuel 
Otero,  directing  him  to  restore  I'adre  Baca  to  his 
rights  and  the  property  of  the  church,  which  order  was 
not  obeyed. 

I"]very  one  of  these  infringements  upon  the  rights 
of  the  priests  was  presented  to  Colonel  Munroe,  in  the 
way  of  charges  and  memorials  signed  by  hundreds  of 
citizens,  but  all  were  deemed  unworthy  of  notice  by 
that  arbitrary  satrap. 

The  true  state  of  affairs  is  most  graphically  painted 
in  a  letter  to  Colonel  Munroe*'- from  ^lajor Weightman. 
AVord  had  been  received  from  Don  Jose  Chaves,  one  of 
the  most  influential  men  of  the  r-ountry,  that  he  feared, 
unless  the  people  were  pacified,  violence  might  be  com- 
mitted, for  the  reason  that  the  civil  authorities  were 
attempting  to  force  ujxui  the  people,  against  their  will, 
the  Padre  Cardenas.  This  Padre  was  the  same  one 
who  Avas  attempted  to  be  forced  upon  the  people  of 
Tom(:^.  Major  Weightman,  who  was  the  recipient  of 
the  letter  from  Don  Jose  Chaves,  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  Los  Lunas,  where  he  was  advised  that  Judges 

'-Letter'  of    R.    H.    Weightman    of   June    18,    1850,    to    Col. 
Munroe — Cong.  Globe,  32d  Cong.,  1st  Session,  page  326. 


178  TIIK    MILITARY    (ICCIPATION 

Ilouiilitoii  iuid  OtoK)  lijul  arrived  and  tliat  for  tln'  pres- 
(  nt  all  was  (|ui('t.  The  following];  day  llio  jiid<j;('S  and 
tlic  prcfci  t  left  for  Sahinal,  win  ro  it  was  clainnMl  the 
|)('opU'  were  in  a  state  of  revolution  and  that  Colonel 
.May  of  the  army  was  pres(  nt  with  ti'oo]»s  to  (piiet  the 
disturbance.  .Major  \Vei<>htiuan  proceeded  to  Sahinal, 
where  he  found  everythin<»-  (piit  t,  the  peojili'  workinji'  in 
the  tields  and  neither  Colonel  .May  nor  any  troo])s  were 
present.  Later  on  Colonel  .May  aj)p(ared  and  declin.d 
to  interfere.  Immediately  the  alcalde  cited,  throujih 
an  order  issued  to  his  constable,  armed  mt  n  to  be 
present,  for  the  purpose  of  assist inj;  the  constable  in 
keepinjf  order.  It  was  asserted  that  the  entire  i)roce;d- 
injj;  was  little  less  than  an  electioneering  trick  to  intim- 
idate the  i)eo]»le  into  voting  for  a  continuance  in  ollice 
of  those  then  exercising  civil  authority.  .Judges  Hough- 
ton and  Otero  were  on  the  ground  an<l  there  were 
jtersistent  rumors  of  revolution,  assassination  and  other 
disturbances,  but  nothing  occurr(Hl,  other  than  a  con- 
clusive demonstration  that  the  people,  so  lately  come 
into  the  rights  of  American  citizens,  were  beginning 
to  api>r((iate  their  full  importance. 

The  al<  aide  at  Sabinal  was  one  -Jesus  Silva,  whose 
ideas  of  his  atithority  were  most  uni(|ue.  On  Sunday, 
the  H;th  of  .June,  1S.")(>.  this  alcalde  attemi»ted  to  conijx'l 
the  |;eo|de  to  receive  the  l^^r.  Cardenas  as  the  priest  of 
ihe  parish.  The  alcalde  maintained  that  inasmuch  as 
lh<'  regular  |»riest.  Otero,  had  not  performed  mass  f(»r 
some  time,  that  it  was  necessary  fe»r  the'  s]»i!itual  we  I- 
I'are'  e>f  the'  |»e'e)|de'  that  mass  l)e  saiel.  The'  re'asems  fe»r 
ihc  absence'  e»f  the'  (  nra.  (Here),  we-re  that  tlic  same' 
aNaleh'  liael  idaeeel  him  in  jail  a  short  time'  jtrieir  anel 
lie'  liael   N'ft.   fe'aring  a    re'pe-t  it  ie)n   e»f  the  incaree'rat  ie»n 


OF    TIIR    TICRUl'L'ORY    OF    NKW    MEXICO.  17!) 

nnd  a  continnod  disiponrd  for  tlie  rights  of  tlic  clmi'ch. 
as  loiiji'  as  Alcalde  Silva  coiitiiuii'd  in  the  adiaiiiistra- 
fioii  of  liis  ollifc.  Tlio  actions  of  the  alcalde  were  ap- 
1»i'ov(h1  by  the  Trtfect,  Kainon  Luna,  as  well  as  by 
•Ind<>es  Honj;liton  and  Otero,  who  were  all  present  and 
undei  look  lo  reprove  tlie  pco[)le  for  their  alleged  insub- 
ordination to  the  lawfully  constitutcMl  authority  of  the 
alcalde. 

More  than  one  hundred  citizens,  the  owners  of  the 
chui'ch  projerty,  made  vigorous  j)rotest  to  the  military 
commander,  at  Santa  Fe,  against  the  actions  of  the 
alcalde  and  the  judges  and  ])refect,  but  no  action  wa,-', 
ever  taken,  although  an  in\('stigation  was  asked  for  ai 
his  hands. 

On  the  18th  of  June  an  order  was  issued  and 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  constable,  connuanding  him 
to  arrest  one,  fJose  Armijo,  and  about  one  hundred 
others,  who  had  protested  against  the  action  of  the 
alcalde,  Silva,  and  take  them  before  the  Prefect,  Ramon 
Luna,  at  sunrise  the  following  morning,  where  their 
olfenses  would  be  examined  into.  The  following  morn- 
ing Avas  the  day  of  election,  and,  even  to  the  uninitiated, 
this  order  of  ai-rest  and  ])roceeding  may  be  readily 
understood,  when  it  is  known  that  every  man  thus 
arrested  was  opj)osed  to  the  re-election  of  the  existing 
officials,  everyone  of  whom  was  a  candidate  for  office. 
All  of  these  ];eople  were  taken  to  the  northern  limits 
of  the  county,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  jiassing  by  the 
doors  of  neighboring  alcaldes,  and,  but  for  the  timely 
assistanc  e  of  Don  Jose  Chaves,  who  gave  bail  for  them, 
in  the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  all  would  have 
been  incarcerated  until  the  next  term  of  the  court. 
AVlien  court  was  held,  notwithstanding  the  statement 


J 80  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

of  the  public  j)rosecutor  that  no  offense  had  been  com- 
mitted, they  were  indicted,  and  those  who  could  not 
<live  bail  a  second  time  were  thrown  into  prison,  where 
they  remained  until  the  appointment  of  James  S.  Cal- 
houn as  jfovcrnor  of  the  Territory.  And  what  was  their 
offense?  Don  Jose  Armijo,  an  elderly  gentleman  of 
good  repute,  acting  as  spokesman  for  the  citizens  who 
objected  to  Fr.  Cardenas,  had  said  to  the  Alcalde  that 
it  was  against  the  will  of  the  people  that  he  say  mass. 
To  which  the  alcalde  replied,  **I  have  the  power,  and 
do  not  recognize  the  j)eople."  Whereupon  Mr.  Armijo 
said:  "If  you  do  not  recognize  the  j  eojile  or  their  sov- 
ereignty, the  people  will  not  recognize  you  as  alcalde." 
This  was  held  to  be  rebellion  by  the  learned  judges,  the 
alcalde  and  the  prefect. 

This,  then,  was  the  sort  of  government  to  which  the 
authorities  of  the  Cnited  States  introduced  its  newly 
acquired  citizens.  Not  that  government  which  Kearny 
had  promised  them,  but  another  and  different  sort,  a 
government  uj)Iield  and  maintained  by  the  bayonets, 
under  command  of  Colonel  Munroe.  who  was  supposed 
to  be  protecting  the  new  citizens  in  tlH'ir  rights  rather 
than  in  oppiessing  Ihem,  as  the  facts  clearly  show  was 
the  case. 

The  \\;\v  Department  at  the  nation's  ca]iitol  was  la- 
boring under  the  belief  that  the  military  in  New  Mexico 
was  only  taking  a  j)artial  particif  ation  in  the  civil 
allairs  of  tlie  Territory,  and  it  was  only  after  the  elec- 
tion of  June  '20.  ISHO,  that  maffeis  weje  brought  to  a 
full  <l«'teniiiiiation  as  to  who  was  the  real  authoi-ity  in 
New  Mexico  and  what   was  his  power. 

IMnsnant  to  a  mteting  held  at  Santa  Fc.  Aj»ril  20, 
Is.'O.  rojoncl   Munroe,  th«!  military  goveriMtr.  issued  a 


OF    THE    'IHUKirOUY    OF    XFW     MEXICO.  181 

proelaiiiation  oalliny  for  an  election  of  dele<iates  to 
meet  in  convention  on  Mixy  lotli.  At  tliis  conxcntion. 
wlioso  ])resi(lin<i-  otlicei-  was  James  If.  Qninn.  a  consti- 
tution for  tlie  state  of  New  Mexico  was  framed.  Tliree 
(lays  afterwaids  Colonel  Mnnroe  issued  another  pi-ocla 
niation  callinji'  for  a  ])0])ular  election  on  the  adojition 
of  the  constitution,  and  also  to  choose  state  and  fedeial 
otticers.  wliose  authority  should  hecoire  valid  as  so(ni 
as  the  state  ooveinnient  was  recoonized  at  ^^'ashington 
by  the  congress. 

The  election  was  held  on  June  2(ltli.  Henry  Con- 
nelly and  Manuel  Alvarez  were  elected  governor  and 
lieutenant-goveinor  over  Raca  and  St.  Vrain.  and 
William  S.  Messervy  was  clios?n  representative  in  con- 
gress. The  vote  on  the  constitution  was  overwhelmingly 
in  favor  of  its  ado]ition,  only  thirty-nine  votes  being 
lecorded  against  it. 

The  oflficials  elected  at  this  time  were  thoroughly 
at  variance  with  the  military  officers  in  res])ect  to  the 
powers  and  ])rerogatives  of  each. 

The  commanding  officer.  Colonel  Munroe,  insisted 
n];on  exercising  all  the  authority  which  had  been  his 
and  ^^■hich  had  been  used  wherever  deemed  ncM-essary 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war  with  Mexico  and  the 
taking  possession  of  the  country  by  Cenei'al  Kearny  in 
August,  ISK'r.  Tlie  position  taken  by  both  Colonel 
Muni'oe  and  by  Lieutenant  Governor  Alvarez,  who  wa- 
acting  in  the  absence  of  Covernor  Connelly,  who  was  ill 
and  visiting  in  the  states,  is  well  outlined  in  an  official 
communication  from  (Jovernor  Alvarez  to  Colonel  Mun 
roe,  of  date  Julv  1.'?,  ISilO,  and  which  is  given  in  full : 


182  tiik  military  occupation 

^'Oovkuxor's  Office, 
'•July  18,  IS.jO. 

"Sir: — fn  iiiv  notes  of  yostonlay.  1  intimated  that 
I  would  take  an  early  occasion  1o  answer  your  coni- 
iiiuni<'ati(»n  of  tlie  IKh  instant. in  which  you  are  pleased 
to  allude  to  a  conversation,  solicited  by  yourself 
thronjih  your  adjutant,  which  we  held  on  the  Kith,  in 
which,  among  other  matters,  you  intimated  a  disposi- 
tion to  disregard  any  acts  of  the  Legislature  overstep- 
})ing  the  bounds  of  your  jiroclamation  of  date  May  28, 
18r)(>.  a  determination  to  sustain  the  authorities  hith- 
erto administering  the  functions  of  government,  ami 
alluded  to  the  course  of  the  new  government  in  organ- 
izing its  departments  and  proceeding  to  exercise  legis- 
lative power,  as  unwarranted  and  revolutionary. 

"From  tlie  terms  of  your  conversation,  I  learned 
that  you  entertain  the  idea  that  the  people,  in  organ- 
izing a  government,  were  bound  to  follow  your  procla- 
mation literally,  strictly,  and  that  they  can  exercise  no 
power  beyond  its  license.  In  this  construction  of  the 
people's  right,  our  opinions  are  entirely  different,  since 
1  hold  the  true  ground  to  be: 

••1st.  That  the  people  had  an  undoubted  right  to 
hold  a  convention,  form  a  constitution,  and  organize  a 
civil  goveinment,  without  either  your  first  or  second 
jd'oclamation,  or  without  even  consulting  with  you. 

"•2d.  That  any  pi-ivate  citizen,  as  well  as  the  com- 
mandant of  the  ninth  military  dcjtartment.  could  have 
issued  the  proclamation,  or  could,  by  comm<»n  consent, 
have  itc(n  designated  for  that  purpose;  ancl.  if  obeyed, 
it  would  have  been  just  as  ell'ectual  and  obligatory  on 
the  |;eople  and  yourself. 


OF    TllK    TEUUITORY    OF    XIOW     MKXICO.  183 

".■)(!.  Tlial  ill  the  abscaico  of  any  ('(ni^rcssional  ]('f>- 
islation  onci-  iis.  we  liave  as  free  and  nndonbted  a  riniit 
(o  reform  and  remodel  onr  old  system,  or  to  establish 
a  new  and  dilferent  one,  not  violatinji'  the  constitution 
of  llie  United  '^'^tates,  as  the  jieojile  of  New  York  or 
Virginia. 

''Jrth.  That  the  civil  j.ower  exercised  by  yon,  under 
a  military  order  from  (Jeneral  Scott,  can  be  no  greater 
nor  more  restrictive  of  the  i-ights  of  the  peojjle  than 
that  exercised  by  the  President  of  the  T'nited  States. 

"'oth.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  can 
not  delegate  a  greater  jtower  than  he  could  himself 
exercise,  and  nothing  is  clearer  than  that  he,  without 
the  sanction  of  congress,  has  no  jiower  either  to  dictate 
a  government  to  us  or  to  prevent  us  from  making  such 
a  one  as  we  may  ]irefer. 

"Gth.  That  it  has  never  been  jtretended.  even  by 
the  ]*resident  of  the  United  States,  that  he  had  any 
authority  to  make  a  government  for  ns  or  to  insist  that 
we  should  observe  the  one  left  to  us  on  the  termination 
of  the  war.  President  Polk,  in  his  message  of  December 
5.  1848,  holds  this  emjdiatic  language  in  speaking  of 
Xew  ^fexico  and  Ualifornia :  'Since  that  time  (loth 
^Fay )  the  limited  i:ower  possessed  by  the  executive  has 
been  exercised  to  jireserve  and  protect  them  from  the 
inevitable  conse(iuences  of  a  state  of  anarchy.  The  only 
government  which  ren>ained  was  that  established  by 
the  military  authority  during  the  Avar.  Regarding  this 
to  be  a  (Ic  fa  do  government,  and  that,  by  the  ])resumed 
consent  of  the  inhabitants,  it  might  be  continued  tem- 
])orarily,  they  were  advised  to  conform  and  submit  to 
it  for  a  short  intervening  period  before  congress  would 
again   assemble   and   legislate  on    the   subject,'     And, 


184  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

ajiain.  in  his  jtrevions  inossajje  of  8tli  July,  President 
Polk  declares  that  'the  war  with  Mexico  having  terini 
nated,  tlie  ])ower  of  the  executive  to  establish  or  to  con 
tinue  tenij.orary  civil  government  over  these  territories, 
which  existed  under  the  laws    of  nations  while  they  were 
regarded  as  con<]uered  jirovinces  in  our  military  occu 
j;ation,  has  ceased,'    Secretary  Ciawfctrd,  in  his  late  re 
port    (  Xovcmlier  .*{(),   1S4!)|,  advances  a   similar  view: 
'The  ]:eculiar  condition  of  the  territories  of  California 
and  New  Mexico,  in  respect  to  their  internal  govern 
menis,  and  the  absence  of  any  clearly  defined  autliority 
by  congress  for  this  object,  has  iinjiosed  delicate  an<l 
difficult  duties  on  the  army.    One  of  its  assigned  duties 
is  to  aid  civil  functionaries,  when  required,  in  the  jires- 
ervation  of  juiblic  tranquility;  but  it  is  believed  that 
the  civil  authority,  so  far  as  it  lias  its  oi'igin  in  ]iolitical 
power,  in  a  great  measure  disa]»peai-ed  l>y  the  transfer 
of  the  sovereignty  and  jurisdicticui  from  Mexico  to  the 
I'nited  States.    The  military  regulations  established  for 
their  government  during  the  war  were  superseded  by 
the  return  of  ]  eace."     1  refer  you  also  to  the  instruc 
tions  given  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  McCall.    Not  having 
these  instiMK-tious,  T  can  only  refer  you  to  them. 

"All  of  these  ojMuions,  emanating  from  distin- 
guislied  statesiiM'U,  are  indorsed  by  the  great  politi- 
ei.iiis  (if  ihe  country.  TIkmc  is  hardly  any  (luestion  of 
slate  rights  better  settled  than  tiiat  the  peojde  have 
an  inalienable  right  peaceably  t(»  assemble  to  take 
sl<'ps  to  reorgjinize  or  remodel  the  government.  an<]  to 
establish  such  laws  as  are  by  them  deemed  more  just 
and  salutary.     Tlu'se  extracts  show    - 

••1st.  That  the  government,  hitherto  existing  in 
New    .Mexico,  is  one  simply  of  consent — a  consent  j>re- 


OF    TIIK    TIOHUITORY    OF    NKW     MKXICO.  185 

sumed;  and  the  people  are  advised  to  submit  tempo- 
rai-ily  to  it. 

''2nd.  They  sliow  that  tlie  president  discLiims  any 
{>ower  to  establisli  or  continue  temporary  civil  govern 
nients. 

"3rd.  That  the  military  regulations  establislied 
for  (our)  governnsent  were  su])erseded  by  the  return  of 
jieace. 

"If  the  positions  above  stated  are  true — and  I  am 
not  aware  that  statesmen  differ  about  them-  -it  has 
always  been  competent  for  the  people  to  take  the  stej) 
they  have  recently  taken;  and  that  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  9th  military  department  has  exercised 
the  functions  of  a  civil  governor,  has  arisen  solely  from 
the  consent  of  the  people.  That  consent  is  now  with- 
drawn. The  people  have  amicably,  and  through  the 
recommendation  of  yourself,  proceeded  to  the  full  or- 
ganization of  a  civil  polity.  Until  the  national  con- 
gress shall  undo  it,  or  refuse  to  sanction  it,  by  the  law 
of  nations  and  the  rights  of  states,  it  will  remain  our 
only  legitimate  government. 

"Had  the  President  power  to  nmke  us  a  govern- 
ment, long  ago  he  would  have  so  or-dered.  This  power 
is  reserved  to  congress;  and,  until  it  acts,  the  people 
must  adopt  such  a  government  as  to  them  may  seem 
best. 

"The  people  of  California  have  pursued  a  similar 
course.  The  government  went  into  immediate  opera- 
tion; the  officer  commanding  the  troops  of  the  United 
States  letired  from  the  discharge  of  his  civil  functions, 
and  his  conduct,  and  the  course  of  the  people,  have  met 
with  general  a])probation  in  the  United  States. 


180  Tin:    MILITARY    OCCII'ATION 

"If  a  stato  «;(>vorniuont  is  likely  to  be  beneficial 
to  the  people  of  New  Mexico,  why  should  they  be  de 
lay('<l  in  its  enjoyment?  Are  they  less  able  to  sustain  it 
now  than  they  would  be  in  six  months  or  a  year?  And 
what  ri<>ht  has  the  military  commandant  of  the  9th 
military  department,  when  the  l*resident  himself  has 
no  such  power,  to  say  that  such  a  government  should 
lie  indetinitely  withheld  from  the  iKiople? 

"If  1  understand  the  second  proclamation  issued 
by  you.  it  contemj)lates  the  organization  of  the  gov- 
ernment, so  far  as  may  l)e  necessary  to  elect  United 
►States  senators — that  is,  it  contemplates  that  at  least 
the  executive  and  legislature  should  qualify  and  pro- 
ceed in  this  election.  The  governor  and  legislature, 
by  the  very  law  that  constituted  them — the  popular 
voice — were,  before  entering  upon  the  discharge  of  their 
duties,  recjuired  to  take  an  oath  to  support  the  consti- 
tution of  ><'ew  Mexico.  Before  an  election  could  take 
place  it  was  necessary  to  pass  a  law  on  this  subject, 
and  to  ]»rovide  the  mode  of  authenticating  the  creden- 
tials of  the  senators.  This  the  proclamation  did  not 
contemplate';  yet  it  was  necessary,  and  the  signature 
of  the  vice-governor,  acting  in  the  absence  of  the  gov- 
ernor, became  necessary,  to  perft'ct  the  law.  The  sig- 
nature of  the  commaiuling  (ifliier  of  the  Otli  military 
<lepartnieiit  to  tin'  credentials  of  the  senators  would, 
to  say  the  least  of  it.  have  been  novel,  and  expose  them 
to  the  c<unmentarv  of  asking  f<u'  seats  with  an  unusual 
and  unconstitutional  evidence  of  an  election.  ^Vhy 
were  the  f<U]nation  of  the  constitution  an<l  the  election 
•  )f  ill!  ex<Miitive  an<l  a  legislature  necessary  to  choose 
rniled  States  senat(U's?  Simjdy  be<'ause  by  the  «*on- 
siitution   (tf   the    Tnited    States  such    (ttbcers   must   be 


OF    THIO    TKUUITOKY    OF    XKW     MEXICO.  J  87 

clioscii  l)v  tlie  loiiislaluros  of  llio  stjitos,  and  lliev  arc 
lUM'Ossary  to  aiitlicnticate  ilic  <i'<Mloiitials.  If,  Hkmi,  it 
was  coinpcteiit  for  tlio  lo<;islatiiro  to  make  oiio  law,  is 
it  not  competent  for  tlieni  to  make  two  or  as  manv  as 
they  may  deem  ])i'0])er?  ^Vas  tlie  vice-jioveriior  an 
officer  constituted  witli  full  })o\vei-  yesterday  to  ])erfect 
the  law  ^to  rej^ulate  the  election  of  United  States  sen- 
ators,' and  is  he  less  an  officer  to-day,  or  his  sijjjnature 
to  another  law,  adopted  by  the  same  legislature,  less 
efticacious.  or  absolutely  null  and  void?  He  cannot  be 
an  oflficer  with  full  authority  one  day.  the  next  witliout 
such  authority,  and  on  the  third  again  vested  with  his 
official  dignity  and  power;  and  if  he  has  been  govei-nor 
for  one  hour  he  is  so  until  his  term  expires,  and,  being 
so,  there  is  no  other;  for  the  co-existence  of  two  gover- 
nors coeval  in  the  same  State  is  impossible,  and  con- 
traiw  to  all  law  and  experience. 

"I  have  failed  to  discover  in  the  extract  you  were 
pleased  to  send  me  any  ])rinciple  contradictory  of  the 
positions  here  laid  down.  The  propositions  are  stated 
generally,  and  are  the  law  as  commonly  received.  The 
({uestions  discussed  are  not  the  ones  that  at  this  time 
vitally  affect  Xew  Mexico. 

"It  is  certainly  true  that,  so  long  as  we  are  not 
constituted  a  State,  the  congress  has  ]»ower  to  mak(^ 
all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  us.  IJut 
we  are  not  a  Territory  until  these  needful  rules  are 
made.  Congress  has  done  nothing — has  not  declared 
us  a  Territory,  nor  extended  over  us  the  laws  of  the 
T'nited  States.  The  docti-ines  asserted  (although  inar- 
tificially  stated)  in  the  extract  are  sufficiently  true, 
and,   as   general    pro]>ositions,    will    not   be   discussed; 


188  MILITAUV    OCCTl'ATION    OF    NKW    MKXICO. 

vol.  applied  to  our  present  attitude,  they  lose  all  aj)- 
pli<-al>ili(y. 

"I  have  deemed  it  projter  to  say  this  uuich  in  reply 
to  your  coiimiunication  of  the  11th,  and.  while  I  assert 
an  earnest  desire  to  see  the  early  jirosperity  of  my 
adopted  country,  suhscrihe  myself  your  most  olxidient 
sei-vant, 

-MAXrEL  ALVAHKZ." 

In  reply  to  this  communication,  stating  the  posi 
tion  tal<en  by  the  Governor,  Alvarez,  and  his  a<lvisers, 
for  the  wordinj;  of  the  letter  shows  that  it  was  written 
by  a  lawy<'r,  and  not  by  the  <«;overnor  personally,  the 
<<»mmander  of  the  military  dejiartment.  Colonel  Mun- 
roe,  declaied  that  ''havin<]:  in  my  prctclamation  of  the 
L'Sth  of  May  last,  calling;  an  election  for  an  executive 
and  le«;islature  to  consummate  the  proper  arran<;e- 
ments  for  the  presentation  of  the  state  constitution 
to  the  con«2;ress  of  the  Tnitel  State<,'"  etc.,  stated  "t'lat 
all  action  l>y  the  jjovc  rnor,  lientenant-gjoveinor,  and  of 
the  le<;islature.  shall  renuiin  in(>perative  until  New 
Mexico  be  admitted  as  a  state  under  said  constitution, 
<*xcept  su(  h  acts  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  jn-imary 
steps  of  (U'j^anization,  and  the  jiresentation  of  said  con- 
stitution properly  Itefore  the  conjiress  of  the  United 
States: 

'•The  j)i('sent  irovernnient  shall  remain  in  full  force 
until,  by  the  a<tion  of  congress,  another  shall  be  con 
stituted. 

••A|ipi.\ing  principles  clearly  in  accordance  with 
llic  ruMstilution  of  the  Tnited  States,  with  the  deci- 
sions of  the  supreme  court  and  the  laws  of  c-ongi'ess, 
I  liad  ii(»  right  to  suppose  that  the  officers  elected  under 
its   provisions   would   assume   to   themselves  authority 


Monument  to  General  Doniphan,  Liberty,  Mo. 


1!)()  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

hcvoiul  the  conditions  on  wliicli  thoy  wore  elected  by 
the  jM'ophs  or  that  they  wouUI  en«iage  in  any  acts  to 
sui>erse(h'  the  present  «i;overnnient.  lint,  soon  after  the 
nieetinj;  of  tlie  h'jiislatnre.  I  became  convinced,  from 
exjtressed  ojtinions  of  members,  of  otlier  j^entlemen  oc- 
cnpyinji  imi)ortant  jiositions,  an<l  from  the  acts  (jf  both 
lionses,  in  addition  to  its  le<;itimate  business,  there 
was  an  obvious  intention  of  subverting?  tlie  f^overnmcnt 
by  le<;islative  action.  In  a  sincere  hoi>e  that  a  pur- 
l>ose  so  rei)ugnant  to  hnv  and  injurious  to  the  v. ell- 
bein<;  of  New  Mexico  mijilit,  by  conciliation  on  my 
part,  be  averted.  I  have  done  whatever  laid  in  my 
j)ower  to  avoid  the  j>ossibility  of  o]»i)osition,  either  in 
fe<'lin<i  or  in  action  by  the  lejiislature.  or  the  i)arty 
by  which  its  majority  was  elected,  apiinst  the  consti- 
tuted authorities  and  established  j;overnmen1. 

'•Reluctantly  as  I  ai»i)roach  the  subject.  I  now  de- 
clare that  the  nomination  of  oHicers.  and  Iheir  con- 
tirmation,  to  assume  the  exercise  of  functions  which 
(by  sujieisedinj;  the  ollii cis  now  in  commission)  will 
atfect  the  laws  of  this  Territory,  as  at  juesent  consti- 
tuted, will  be  d(  (Miied  and  considered  ;)s  an  act  <mi  the 
jiart  of  all  < onceined  in  direct  violation  of  tlieir  duties 
as  citizens  of  the  I'liited  Stat<>s. 

•*.My  oflicial  (tbii.uat ions  imj>eratively  re(|uire  thai 
the  jtresent  <i;overnment  be  sustained  until  sujierseilc  I 
by  another  legally  constituted;  and  this  duty  I  will 
f^illil!  with  all  the  means  at  my  d'sposal." 

Immediately  ujion  the  receij»t  of  this  letter  by 
<  loxcijioi-  Alvarez,  its  contents  were  communicated  to 
tlM'  Icgishitui-e  then  in  session,  whereupon  that  body. 
und<tubl('dly  voi<in<r  the  sentiments  of  the  jK'oplc  of 
New  Mexico.  a<biptcd  a  joint  re  scMut i<ii'.  the  t<Mior  of 
wliirli  is  cxpi'f'ssive  antl  vigorous. 


OF    TIIIO    TKUKITORY    OF    XKW     MEXICO.  IJJl 

Tliis  resolution  is  as  follows: 

"W  lu'icas,  a  Idler  sijiined  by  •John  Muiiioe.  styliiij; 
himself  civil  and  inililaiy  governor  of  New  Mexico, 
and  directed  to  Lieutenant-( Jovernor  Manuel  Alvarez, 
lias  just  been  conniiunicated  to  the  legislature,  in 
which  said  Munroe  expresses  a  determination  to  main- 
tain the  civil  authorities  hitherto  administerinji'  the 
<i,(»vernmeni  in  New  ^lexico,  and  also  threatens  to  use 
ail  the  foi'ces  at  his  disposal  to  resist  the  etfective 
o])eration  of  tlie  slate  governnunit  now  in  complete 
organization,  with  an  evident  intention  to  overawe  the 
]:(M)]!lo.  Icjiislaturc  and  the  different  departments  of 
the  jiovernment.  and  to  annul,  by  means  of  military 
];()wei'.  the  ];eaceable  desires  of  the  people;  and, 

"Whereas,  seven-eighths  of  the  entire  ])0])ulation 
of  New  Mexico  are  clearly  in  favor  of  ])uttin<i:  in  im- 
mediate o]  ('ration  the  civil  state  government  lately 
adopt(Hl  by  them  by  an  unheaid  of  unanimity,  and  to 
bo  relieved  from  the  sinking,  ineffective  and  abhorrent 
system  which  they  have  peacefully  respected  for 
nearly  four  years; 

"liesolved: 

"1.  That  it  is  the  indis])utable  right  of  the  ])eo]»le. 
in  the  absence  of  congressional  legislation  on  the  sub- 
ject, to  organize  a  civil  government  and  ])ut  it  in 
immediate  ojieration. 

'"2.  That  the  right  of  exercising  any  civil  function 
by  the  commander  of  the  0th  military  deitartment  (if 
it  ever  existed)  was  superseded  by  the  organization 
of  the  state  government. 

"3.  That  Ave  heartily  ajsprove  the  communication 
desj;atched  by  Vice-Oovernor  Alvarez  to  Colonel 
Munroe.  dated  Julv,  1850. 


192  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

•*4.     That   we  heartily  approve  the  intention  of 
(lovernor  Alvarez  to  establish  and  maintain  in  opera 
tioii  the  government  just  organized. 

"5.  That  the  peoj)le  have  a  clear  and  sacred  right 
to  lake  any  step  to  juit  in  operation  the  state  govern- 
ment, and  that  this  right  was  snjjerior  to,  and  entirely 
independent  of.  the  military  govei-nment  hitherto  ex- 
isting in  this  Territory. 

*'().  That  Colonel  J.  ^fnuroe  has  no  legal  or 
()ther  right  to  restrict  the  peaceful  action  of  the  people 
in  organizing  a  government;  nor  had  he  authority, 
either  in  law,  or  from  the  general  government,  to  sub- 
ject the  action  of  the  late  convention  to  any  conditions 
or  limitations  whatever. 

"7.  That  the  commander  has  assumed  a  power  not 
delegated  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  and 
directly  in  opi)ositioii  to  the  expressed  princij)les  of 
President  Taylor  in  liis  reply  to  the  investigations 
made  by   the  congress  of  the  United  States. 

"S.  That  the  Secretary  of  State  be  retpiired  to 
furnish  co])ies  of  the  above  ])reamble  and  rescdutions 
to  Colonel  .1.  Muui-oe.  (Jovernor  Alvarez  and  to  the 
Senators  and  He}>res<Mitatives  to  congress." 

When  these  resolutions  had  been  lU'csented  to 
Colonel  Munroe,  and.  realizing  the  eainestness  of  the 
s]»irit  which  piompted  their  passage,  he  made  fin-mal 
report  to  the  Adjutant  (Jeueral  of  the  Army  at  \\'asli 
ingtou,  Majoi-  (Jeneral  R.  .lones.  in  the  following 
language: 

''Ileadcjuarters  !Mh  Military  Department, 

"Santa  lY'.  New  Mexico,  July  10.  ISoO. 

"Sir:  The  jolitical  affairs  of  Xew  .Mexico  have 
assumed  so  grave  a  chara<t«'r  that   it  has  become  mv 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  193 

imperative  duty  to  make  the  executive  of  the  United 
States  acquainted  through  you  with  the  material  fact 
that  the  new  state  government,  organized  so  far  only 
as  to  take  the  preliminary  steps  towards  admission 
into  the  Union,  has  assumed  to  supersede  the  actual 
government,  and  go  at  once  into  operation, 

''The  ratification  of  the  constitution  and  the  elec- 
tion of  an  executive  and  legislature  by  the  people  was 
held  under  the  proclamation  I  issued  on  the  28th  day 
of  May  last,  and  there  has  been  no  official  expression 
of  their  dissent  from  that  instrument,  nor  any  author- 
ity given  by  them  to  the  governor  and  legislature  to 
act  beyond  its  provisions. 

''Merely  adverting  to  the  unadjusted  claim  of 
Texas  and  the  probability  of  a  territorial  organization 
as  causes  of  delay,  I  have,  independent  of  these  ques- 
tions of  expediency,  decided  that  my  obligations  are 
not  to  acknowledge  the  authority  above  assumed,  but 
to  await  the  determination  of  the  congress  of  the 
United  States  as  to  the  legality  of  that  authority,  or 
the  orders  of  the  Executive  in  relation  to  the  course 
I  am  to  pursue. 

"The  purpose  of  the  new  state  government  being, 
by  the  appointment  of  its  officers  and  other  acts,  to 
supplant  the  present  establishment  with  as  little  delay 
as  possible,  you  will  perceive  how  important  it  is  that 
instructions  for  my  guidance  be  sent  me  without  loss 
of  time. 

"A  reasonable  delay  on  the  part  of  the  legislature, 
at  a  time  when  there  is  every  prospect  that  the  people 
of  New  Mexico  will  soon  have  a  government  in  ac- 
cordance with  their  wishes,  is  a  policy  which  I  have 
no  doubt  the  New  Mexicans  in  that  body  would  have 


104  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

adopted  as  best  suited  to  their  interests,  and  as  re- 
spectful to  the  goveiniuent  of  the  United  States;  but 
opinions  have  been  prepared  for  them  here  b}-  those 
having  no  ties  binding  them  to  the  Territory,  except 
the  possession  and  expectation  of  office,  and,  if  any 
serious  consequences  arise  from  the  adoption  of  their 
advice,  will  be  found  safely  beyond  its  limits. 

"Those  persons  well  understand  the  unstable  ele- 
ments of  the  Mexican  character,  the  general  ignorance 
of  the  ])eople,  their  manifest  dislike  (although  latent) 
to  Americans,  and  the  strong  sympathies  a  large  num- 
ber entertain  for  ^Nfexican  institutions  and  its  govern- 
ment, as  opi)osed  to  that  of  the  United  States,  jet, 
with  this  knowledge,  they  have  pursued  a  course,  un- 
derstandingly,  from  which  sooner  or  later  disagreeable 
consequences  will  undoubtedly  arise. 

'"As  charges,  both  general  and  specific,  have  been 
made,  and  will  be  urged  at  Washington  against  those 
who  have  admin ister(Hl  th(^  affairs  of  this  Territory, 
an  investigation  into  their  conduct  is  due  both  to  the 
people  and  themselves.  If  such  an  investigation 
should  be  ordered,  I  am  satisfied  it  will  be  shown  that 
the  })ersons  and  ])roperty  of  the  inhabitants  of  New 
Mexico  have  been  i»rotected  to  the  full  extent  of  the 
guaranty  ])rovided  by  the  ti'eaty  with  Mexico. 

''A  separate  ])ai)er  will  enumerate  the  documents 
which  accomjiany  this  communication." 

^^'ith  all  the  information  concerning  the  contest 
for  i>ower  between  the  people  and  the  military,  as  pre- 
sented by  Uolonel  Munroe  himself,  the  President  di- 
rected the  Secretary  of  War  to  instruct  Colonel  Mun- 
ro<'  to  abstain  from  all  further  interference  in  the 
civil  and  political  affairs  of  New  Mexico,  which  in- 
stt  net  ions  are  found  in  the  following  order: 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  195 

"W.ir  Department,  Washington, 

"September  10,  1850. 

*'Sir:  Your  letter  addressed  to  tlie  Adjutant  Gen- 
eral, dated  Santa  F^,  New  Mexico,  July  16,  1850,  having 
reached  this  department,  and,  together  with  the  docu- 
ments accompanying  the  same,  been  submitted  to  the 
President,  I  am  directed  to  make  the  following  reply: 
The  President  has  learned  with  regret  that  any  mis- 
understanding should  exist  between  a  portion  of  the 
people  of  New  Mexico  and  yourself  in  relation  to  the 
government  of  that  country,  and  hastens  to  relieve 
you  from  the  embarrassment  in  which  that  misunder- 
standing has  placed  you. 

''I  have  now  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  con- 
gress has  at  length  passed  a  law  providing  for  the  es 
tablishment  of  a  Territorial  government  in  New  Mex- 
ico. The  President  will  proceed  with  the  least  possible 
delay  to  organize  the  government;  and,  as  soon  as  it 
goes  into  operation,  all  controvers}'  as  to  what  is  the 
proper  government  of  New  Mexico  must  be  at  an  end, 
and  the  anomalous  state  of  things  which  now  exists 
there  will  be  determined.  You  will  perceive,  however, 
that  the  same  act  (a  duly  authenticated  copy  of  which 
accompanies  this  communication)  also  fixes  the  bound- 
ary between  New  Mexico  and  Texas,  and  that  its 
operation  is  suspended  until  the  assent  of  Texas  shall 
have  been  given  to  the  boundary  established  by  the 
act. 

"Although  there  is  little  doubt  that  such  assent 
will  be  given,  yet,  as  some  time  must  elapse  before  it 
can  be  obtained,  it  is  proper  that  some  instructions 
should  be  given  for  your  guidance  in  the  interval. 


lUG  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

"'It  is  at  all  times  desirable  that  the  civil  and 
military  departments  of  the  government  should  be  kept 
entirely  distinct.  Although  circumstances  may  occa- 
sionally arise  which  require  a  temporary  departure 
from  this  principle,  that  departure  should  cease  with 
the  necessity  which  occasioned  it.  No  necessity  seems 
to  exist  at  present  for  departing  from  it  in  regard  to 
New  Mexico.  The  country  is  represented  to  be  tran- 
quil; and,  although  the  inhabitants  have  undertaken 
to  establish  a  government  for  themselves  without  the 
authority  of  a  previous  act  of  congress,  nevertheless 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  in  so  doing  they  in- 
tended to  throw  off  their  allegiance  to  the  United 
States;  and,  as  the  government  they  seek  to  establish 
is  entirely  consistent  with  the  lawful  authority  and 
dominion  of  the  United  States  in  and  over  the  Terri- 
tory and  its  inhabitants,  the  President  does  not  con- 
sider himself  called  upon  to  suppress  it  by  military 
force.  Unless,  therefore,  it  should  become  necessary 
to  suppress  rebellion,  or  resist  actual  hostilities  against 
the  United  States  (an  event  hardly  to  be  apprehended), 
or  unless  the  inhabitants,  or  a  portion  of  them,  should 
demand  from  you  that  protection  which  is  guaranteed 
to  them  by  the  ninth  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Guadalupe 
TTidalgo,  you  are  directed  to  abstain  from  all  further 
interference  in  civil  or  political  affairs  of  that  country. 

"In  case  you  should  have  any  further  communica- 
tions to  make  to  this  department  in  relation  to  the 
civil  and  political  affairs  of  New  Mexico,  you  will  ad- 
dicss  them  directly  to  the  head  of  this  department. 

"C.  M.  CONRAD, 
"Secretary  of  War." 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  197 

Matters  in  New  Mexico  were  believed  b.y  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  cabinet  to  be  in  so  strained  a  condition, 
owing  to  the  position  taken  by  the  commander  of  the 
ninth  military  department  and  his  unwarranted  mixing 
in  the  civil  and  political  affairs  of  the  Territory,  that 
the  President  ordered  the  letter  from  his  Secretary  of 
War,  Mr.  Conrad,  sent  to  Santa  F6  by  special  messen- 
ger. At  that  time,  it  required  only  about  six  weeks  for 
a  letter  to  be  transmitted  from  Washington  to  New 
Mexico,  and  the  orders  to  Colonel  Munroe  did  not  reach 
him  until  the  22d  day  of  October.  The  special  messen- 
ger, entrusted  with  the  carriage  of  this  letter,  was 
Henry  Hardy. 

Colonel  Munroe,  however,  did  not  perform  the 
orders  of  his  chief,  and  kept  the  people  in  ignorance 
of  the  tenor  of  his  instructions  and  kept  on  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  functions  of  civil  and  military  gov- 
ernor of  the  Territory  until  the  organization  of  the 
territorial  government  and  the  installation  of  Gov- 
ernor Calhoun,  which  took  place  in  March,  1851.  He 
thus  kept  in  power  those  officials  who  were  unsatis- 
factory to  the  people;  maintained  a  government  which 
Avas  civil  only  in  name  and  purely  military  in  all  mat- 
ters deemed  by  the  commandant  demanding  it;  a  gov- 
ernment which  harassed  and  oppressed  the  people, 
interfered  with  their  religious  worship,  disturbing  par- 
ishes in  the  administration  of  their  own  churches  and 
religious  affairs;  a  government  which  fined  and  im- 
prisoned the  people  without  the  intervention  of  juries, 
which  taxed  them  without  their  consent,  which  em- 
bezzled the  taxes  when  collected,  and  which,  in  one  or 
two  flagrant  cases,  scourged  them  without  trial. ^'^ 

•"R.    H.    Weightman  —  speech    in    Congress,    1st    Sess.    32d 
Congress. 


IDS  THK    .MILITARY    OCCL'PATIOX 

<''<>loiiel  Muiiioo  had  unwittingly  allied  himself 
with  a  few  persons  who  had  impressed  him  with  the 
firm  belief  that  the  Mexican  people  were  degraded  and 
vicious  and  always  looking  for  an  opportunity  to  create 
trouble  with  those  in  authority.  His  ideas  of  govern- 
ment were  purely  of  the  sort  entertained  by  almost  all 
military  otticers,  and  he  was  jealous  of  any  interference 
with  the  authority  with  which  he  det'uied  himself 
vested. 

The  passage  of  the  act  of  September  9,  1850,  did 
not  disjiose  of  the  complaints  and  dissatisfaction  which 
existed  in  the  Territory,  and  it  was  not  until  the  in- 
auguration of  (lovernor  Calhoun,  the  following  spring, 
that  the  jjeojile  had  any  confidence  in  the  government 
which  had  been  juomised  them  at  the  time  of  the 
proclamation  of  General  Kearny. 

The  first  legislative  assembly  of  the  Territory  of 
New  ^lexico,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the  act  of 
September  0,  1S.~)(I,  met  at  Santa  Fe  on  the  2d  da}'  of 
June,  1851,  and  among  its  enactments  was  one  provid- 
ing '"that  all  laws  that  have  jn-eviously  been  in  force  in 
this  Territory  that  are  not  repugnant  to  or  inconsistent 
with  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  organic 
law  of  this  Territory,  or  an  act  jtassed  at  the  present 
session  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  shall  be  and  con- 
tinue in  force,  excepting  in  Kearny's  Code,  the  law 
concerning  registers  of  land."' 

There  had  been  no  substantial  reason  for  the  de- 
nial to  the  peoj)le  of  Xew  Mexico  of  a  territorial  form 
of  gov*  rnment  for  so  long  a  jieriod  as  had  intervened 
since  the  treaty  with  Mexico.  In  the  first  petition  for 
admission,  the  ])eople  of  X<'W  M<'xico  had  declared  that 
lier  people  were  <»pposed  to  slavery.     The  fact  that  the 


OF    TIIK    TKIUJITOUY    OF    MOW     MKXICO.  101) 

(lonioslic  institutions  of  some  of  tlio  states  wei-c  dis- 
tastefnl  to  Xew  ^lexicans  was  not  a  sufficient  reason 
for  witlilioldin<»'  some  soi-t  of  government  other  tlian 
the  strange  mixture  of  civil  and  military  which  con- 
tinued after  the  Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo.  Had 
Xew  ^Mexico  been  admitted  to  the  I'nion  in  1S5(),  her 
constitution  would  have  prohibited  slavery.  There  were 
not  a  thousand  residents  in  the  Territory  at  that  time, 
who  had  been  born  in  the  United  States,  and  the 
Mexican  population  was  over  sixty-five  thousand,  all  of 
the  latter  being  opi)Osed  to  slavery,  but  the  factious 
temper  of  the  times  was  such  that  the  slightest  pretext 
for  argument  gave  rise  to  angry  conflict  and  in  the 
light  of  events  transpiring  during  that  period  and  until 
the  actual  breaking  out  of  hostilities  in  the  war  be- 
tween the  States,  there  was  no  chance  for  the  admission 
of  Xew  ^Mexico  into  the  Union. 

The  true  sentiment  of  the  people  of  ]\ew  Mexico 
was  reflected  ten  years  later  by  her  contribution  in 
men  for  the  Federal  armies,  in  the  great  conflict  for 
the  preservation  of  the  Union  and  the  suppression  and 
eradication  of  an  institution  which,  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity, in  convention  assembled,  her  i)eople  had  de- 
clared to  be  obnoxious  to  all  libertv  loving  citizens. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

It  was  intended,  at  the  time  of  the  commeneenient 
of  tile  writing  of  tliis  volume,  to  incorporate,  as  far  as 
possible,  many  incidents  occurring  during  the  Occupa- 
tion Period,  all  of  which  were  a  part  of  the  story  of 
the  acts  and  deeds  of  the  men  who  were  prominent  in 
the  affairs  of  New  Mexico  at  that  time.  This  plan  was 
found  to  be  impracticable.  In  order  that  nothing  of 
interest  should  be  omitted,  it  was  deemed  wise  to  bring 
out  all  these  events  in  the  form  of  biographical  sketches. 
This  has  been  done  with  a  plainness  and  a  simplicity 
which  may  recommend  it  to  the  general  reader  and 
certainly  to  the  descendants  of  those  individuals  whose 
biographies  are  presented.  The  limits  within  which  it 
has  been  necessary  to  confine  this  portion  of  the  volume 
have  rendered  unavoidable  some  omissions  and  occa- 
sional compression ;  but,  on  the  whole,  th(  re  has  been 
included  that  which  is  memorable  and  interesting.  It 
was  an  essential  object  to  bring  in  all  these  events 
within  a  moderate  com[)ass  and  in  a  manner  available 
for  those  who  have  little  time  for  sj)ecial  study  or 
reading,  and  yet  may  reasonably  desire  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  history  of  the  conquest  of  New  Mexico  not 
to  be  gathered  from  ordinary  histories. 

Interesting  studies  of  other  men,  taking  a  promi- 
nent ])art  in  the  affairs  of  New  Mexico  at  that  time, 
might  have  been  included;  but  their  deeds  and  par- 
ticii)ation  in  the  events  of  the  j)eriod  were  practically 
the  same  as  those  narrated  in  the  sketches  which  follow. 
It  has  been  ])elieved  that  this  modest  effort  to  [)lace 
within  the  I'each  of  the  public  a  comprehensive  rela- 


IMILITAIIY  OCCUPATION  OF  NKW   MEXICO.  201 

tion,  carefully  based  upon  the  best  authority  available, 
written  entirely  without  bias  or  prejudice,  will  serve 
to  rectify,  to  a  great  extent,  the  mistaken  opinions 
which  have  found  lodgment  in  the  minds  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  relative  to  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico  and 
its  citizens. 


General  Stephen  Watts  Kearny. 

From  ii    riituic  iM-lmiciiif,'  to  liis  son.   Ilriiry  S.   Kianiy,   of   N.w   York   City. 


STEPHEN  WATTS  KEAKNY. 

Steplien  Watts  Kearny  was  a  student  of  Columbia 
(•ollej»e,  in  the  Citv  of  New  York,  in  1S12,  and  would 
have  graduated  in  the  suniniei-  of  that  year.  As  soon, 
however,  as  it  became  a  certainty  that  war  must  ensue 
between  the  United  States  and  (Jreat  Britain  he  ajjplied 
for  and  obtained  a  commission  in  tlie  United  States 
army.  On  the  12th  of  March,  1812,  while  still  in  his 
ei<ihteeuth  year,  he  was  appointed,  from  New  Y'ork. 
First  Lieutenant  in  the  Thirteenth  United  States  In- 
fantry. He  distinguished  himself  particularly  in  storm- 
ing a  British  battery,  and  throughout  the  assault  on 
Queenstown  Heights,  13th  October,  1812.  Lieutenant- 
Uolonel  Christie,  connnanding  his  regiment,  himself 
wounded  in  this  action,  presented  young  Kearny  with 
his  sword  on  the  field  of  battle  for  the  cool  and  deter- 
mined manner  with  Avhicli  he  executed  the  command 
which  devolved  upon  him.  A  companion  in  arms  states 
that,  as  'First  Lieutenant  of  Captain  Ogilvie's  company, 
he  (S.  W.  K.)  enjoyed  at  an  early  age  the  character  of 
high  promise  his  after  years  develojied.  He  was  made 
l>risoner  on  this  occasion  and  sent  to  Quebec,  and  was 
long  detained  in  cajttivity.  He  became  Captain  in 
April,  1813;  Brevet  Major  in  April,  1823,  and  Major  in 
May,  1829.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  First  United 
States  Dragoons  he  was  appointed  their  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  4th  :\rarch,  1833,  and  Colonel,  4th  July,  1836. 
On  the  30th  of  June,  1846,  he  was  commissioned  Briga- 
dier-General, was  ])laced  in  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  West,  and  made  the  conquest  of  the  Territory  of 
New  Mexico.  He  received  the  Brevet  of  :\Lijor-General. 
United  States  Armv,  for  gallant  and  meritorious  con- 


204  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

duct  in  New  Mexico  and  California,  to  date  from  the 
battle  of  San  Pasciial,  6tli  December,  184G,  in  which  he 
was  twice  wounded.  He  commanded  the  combined 
force,  consisting  of  detachments  of  sailors,  marines 
and  of  dragoons,  in  the  battles  of  San  Gabriel  and 
Plains  of  Mesa,  8th  and  9th  January,  1847,  and  was 
Governor  of  California  from  the  date  of  his  proclama- 
tion, 1st  March,  1847,  down  to  June  of  the  same  year. 
On  the  31st  of  October,  1848,  he  fell  a  victim,  at  Vera 
Cruz,  to  illness  contracted  in  the  course  of  his  arduous 
service  during  the  Mexican  War.  Like  his  nephew, 
Major  General  Philip  Kearny,  he  died  for  his  country. 

One  who  knew  him  well,  being  competent  to  judge, 
said:  "If  ever  there  was  a  man  whom  I  considered 
really  chivalrous,  in  fact,  a  man  in  all  that  noble  term 
conveys,  that  natural  soldier  and  gentleman  was  Ste- 
phen Watts  Kearny." 

He  was  descended  from  chivalric  ancestors.  He 
was  the  son  of  Philip  Kearny  and  Lady  Barney  Dexter 
(Ravaud)  Kearny,  his  wife.  The  founder  of  the  family 
in  America  was  Michael  Kearny,  who  came  from  Ire- 
land and  settled  in  Monmouth,  N.  J.,  prior  to  1716. 
Among  his  ancestors  were  the  DeLanceys,  glorious  sol- 
diers for  ages.  John  Watts,  Senior,  married  Anne,  the 
second  daughter  of  Stephen  De  Lancey,  who  immi- 
grated to  New  York  in  1686.  They  were  his  grand- 
parents and  the  great-grand-parents  of  Major  General 
Philip  Kearny.  Their  youngest  son,  Stephen,  com- 
manded the  First  Battalion,  New  York  Volunteers, 
during  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

In  the  unfortunate  controversy  which  arose  in  Cali- 
foinia  between  General  Kearny  and  Commodore  Stock- 
ton, Colonel  Fremont  was  involved.     General  Kearnv 


OF    TIIK    TIOIUtlTORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  205 

deemed  it  his  duty  to  arrest  Colonel  Fremont  and  pre- 
fer charges  against  him,  which  he  did,  the  result  of 
which  was  the  court-martial  which  tried  and  convicted 
Colonel  Fremont.  Colonel  Fremont  was  the  son-in-law 
of  Senator  Thomas  H.  Benton.  Senator  Benton  de- 
veloped an  enmity  towards  General  Kearny  such  as  he 
only  could  hold.  No  more  uncompromising  man  than 
Benton  ever  lived.  No  man  ever  in  public  life  was  more 
intolerant,  and  often  he  was,  despite  his  greatness,  rash 
and  unreasonable.  The  conviction  of  Fremont  was  the 
cause  of  Benton's  hatred  of  Kearny.  No  one  can  read 
the  correspondence  between  General  Kearny,  Commo- 
dore Stockton  and  Fremont  without  a  feeling  that  Gen- 
eral Kearny  maintained  his  position  well.  The  con- 
troversy was  very  distasteful  to  General  Kearny,  but 
he  believed  the  instructions  given  him  had  placed  upon 
him  a  great  responsibility,  and  he  believed  that  he  was 
acting  as  the  personal  representative  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  He  would  not  surrender  any  part 
of  the  prerogatives  entrusted  to  his  care.  He  acted 
solely  from  a  sense  of  duty.  He  was  a  faithful  officer, 
devoted  to  his  duty,  and  was  always  trusted  by  his 
government. 


Donaciano  Vigil,  Second  Governor  of  New  Mexico. 


DOXACIAXO  VKJIL. 

Tlie  ancestors  of  Donaciano  A'ip,il  came  from 
S])ain,  were  of  limited  means,  and  Avitliont  the  ])0wer 
and  intlnence  which  accompanied  wealth,  even  in  the 
ei<>hteenth  centnry.  His  parents  were  Don  Juan  Cris- 
tobal \'igil  and  Dona  Maria  Antonia  Marin.  His 
father,  while  of  liberal  education,  was  a  soldier,  and 
f()n<;ht  in  many  Indian  campaigns  in  New  Mexico. 
From  1815  to  1S21  he  was  an  Alcalde  of  the  first  in- 
stance, an  official  liaving  about  the  same  jurisdiction 
and  authority  as  a  judge  of  our  district  courts. 

Donaciano  Vigil  was  born  in  Santa  F«'.  the  capital 
of  the  province  of  New  ^lexico,  on  the  Gth  day  of  Sej)- 
tember,  1802.  He  had  an  older  brother.  Juan,  and 
two  sisters. 

Education  under  the  Sjianish  regime  was  under  a 
strict  censorship,  and  very  much  restricted  in  curricu- 
lum. A  reverend  Father,  who  was  master  of  ancient 
languages. but  ignorant  of  the  first  ])rinci})les  of  mathe- 
matics and  other  sciences,  explained  this  enigma  to 
Cai)tain  Zebulon  Pike,  V.  S.  A.,  when  that  ofticer  was 
in  Santa  Fe  in  1807,  by  informing  him  of  the  care  ''the 
Spanish  government  took  to  })revent  any  branch  of 
science  from  being  made  a  pursuit,  which  would  have  a 
tendency  to  extend  the  views  of  the  subjects  in  the  prov- 
inces to  the  geography  of  their  country,  or  any  other 
subject  Avhicli  would  bring  to  view  a  comparison  of  their 
local  advantages  and  situations  with  other  countries." 

In  addition  to  this  mistaken  ]!olicy  of  the  Spanish 
government,  there  were  no  schools  worthy  of  the  name 
in  the  province  of  New  Mexico  provided  with  teachers 
caj^able  even   in  the  branches  jtermitted  to  be  taught. 


208  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

About  this  time — 1811 — the  magnificent  sum  of  eight 
hundred  dollars  had  been  expended  by  the  government 
of  New  Mexico  in  the  conduct  of  two  so-called  public 
schools,  one  at  Santa  F6  and  the  other  at  San  Miguel.'* 
Opportunities  for  education  proper  in  those  times  were 
limited  to  home  instruction.  Fortunately  the  father  of 
Donaciano  Vigil  was  educated,  and  fully  appreciated 
the  advantages  of  an  education  to  his  children.  He 
gave  them  instruction  and  reviewed  their  studies  as 
they  advanced.  Donaciano  and  his  brother  Juan,  as 
also  a  cousin,  Juan  Bautista  Vigil  y  Alarid,  had  a 
natural  liking  for  books  and  study,  and  naturally  were 
men  of  brilliant  minds.  Accelerating  the  instruction 
received  at  home  by  availing  themselves  of  the  limited 
supply  of  books  in  those  times  among  their  friends  and 
neighbors,  they  soon  became  well  grounded  in  the  his- 
tory of  their  country  and  time.  Their  superior  attain- 
ments soon  brought  their  services  into  demand  in  posi- 
tions of  responsibility  and  trust.  It  was  a  current  re- 
mark among  those  most  familiar  with  men  and  times 
under  the  Republic  of  Mexico  that  Donaciano  Vigil  and 
his  brother,  Juan,  were  among  the  best  educated  men  in 
jmblic  life  in  the  dei)artment.  Juan  had  served  in  the 
provincial  assembly,  and  had  frequently  been  called 
to  other  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility  in  local 
affairs. 

Donaciano  Vigil  was  married  at  Santa  F<^,  the 
marriage  ceremony  having  been  performed  by  the  Very 
Reverend  Vicar.  Juan  Felipe  Ortiz.  The  union  was 
blessed  with  ten  children,  of  whom  five,  all  boys,  grew 
1o  manhood.  Antonio  B.  was  appointed  a  cadet  to  the 
^filitary  Academy  in  the  City  of  Mexico  in  1841,  was 


''Marmsfript    ropy    of    rei»ort    of    Pedro    Bautista    Pino   to 
Fsinp;  of  Spain,  Nov.  12,  1811;   in  possession  of  author. 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  209 

commissioned  a  lieutenant  and  served  in  the  Mexican 
army  during  the  Mexican  AVar;  was  engaged  in  the 
battle  of  Palo  Alto,  and  returned  to  Xew  ^lexico  in 
1848.  Jose  Epifanio  Avas  at  one  time  auditor  of  i)ublic 
accounts  of  the  Territory  of  Xew  Mexico,  and  held 
many  other  positions  of  trust  and  profit  under  the  Ter- 
ritorial government,  and  died  at  Santa  F^,  beloved  and 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  Antonio  B,  with  the 
other  sons,  Desiderio,  Hermenijildo  and  Epitacio,  re- 
sided at  Pecos,  in  San  Miguel  county,  and  during  their 
lives  were  engaged  in  stockraising  and  agricultural  pur- 
suits. Don  Heremenijildo  Vigil  served  in  the  Legisla- 
tive council  from  San  Miguel  county  in  1890.  Desiderio 
and  Epitacio  served  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion  of 
1861-05,  respectively,  three  years  in  the  First  New 
Mexico  Infantry  and  six  months  in  the  Second  New 
Mexico  Infantry. 

The  Vigil  homestead  in  Santa  F^,  where  the  old 
governor,  and  the  judge,  his  father  before  him,  resided, 
is  near  the  old  Guadalujte  church,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Kio  de  Santa  Fe.  It  was  a  retired,  quiet  retreat,  once 
abounding  in  magnificent  trees,  planted  by  the  hands 
of  Judge  Vigil.  It  was  here  that  Governor  A'igil  lived 
with  his  amiable  consort  during  the  heyday  of  his  dis- 
tinguished career,  and  until  he  removed  in  1855  to  his 
ranch  on  the  Pecos  river,  some  twenty-five  miles  to  the 
southeast  of  Santa  Fe.  In  the  year  1823  he  made  his 
reputation  as  an  intrepid  Indian  fighter,  having  been 
engaged  during  that  year  and  taking  a  leading  part  in 
a  campaign  against  the  Navajos,  whose  warriors  had 
been  raiding  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande.  In  the  years 
1833  and  1836,  respectively,  he  again  ])articipated  in 
the  chastisement  of  this  powerful  tribe. 


210  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

The  iiisiiiTOction  of  1S37  found  A'igil  n  militarv 
prisoner  in  the  ciiarto  dc  los  vrnderas,  at  tlie  Palace, 
wliere.  it  may  be  remarked,  many  distinguislied  people 
had  been  held  in  duress,  ineluding  a  former  Territorial 
j;overnor  of  New  Mexico.  Merriweather,  in  1821. 

The  circumstances  under  which  he  thus  became  a 
prisoner,  briefly  stated,  may  serve  to  indicate  a  sturdy 
characteristic.  The  military  forces  in  the  department 
at  that  date,  in  consetpience  of  there  being  no  money 
to  pay  them,  had  been  temporarily  discharged,  so  as 
to  allow  them  to  return  to  their  homes  or  to  engage  in 
such  pursuits  as  they  might  be  able  to  find,  and  thus 
gain  that  subsistence  which  the  government  had  ac- 
knowledged itself  unable  to  furnish. 

Mgil  had  found  emj)loyment  in  the  store  of  one, 
Tomas  \'alcncia,  a  merchant  of  Santa  F6,  as  a  clerk, 
receiving  imperative  instructions  that  he  was  to  credit 
no  i)erson  whatever.  While  thus  employed,  and  a  short 
time  previous  to  the  insurrection  against  Perez,  Cap- 
tain (,'avallero,  commandant  of  the  forces  in  New  Mex- 
ico, called  at  the  store  and  demanded  credit.  Vigil 
explained  the  nature  of  his  instructions,  but  the  Cap- 
tain jiersisted.  even  to  abuse  and  ]»ersonal  violence. 
In  the  latter,  however,  the  belligerent  <aptain  found 
himself  second  best,  in  that  the  future  govei-nor  of  New 
Mexico  gathered  him  in  his  arms  and  put  him  outside 
the  store  room.  Taking  a  cowardly  advantage  of  the 
relations  then  existing.  \'igil  still  being  a  sergeant  in 
thf  army,  the  captain,  as  "Commandante."  issued  an 
order  jilacing  \'igil  under  arrest  for  assaulting  his 
superior  officer.  And  thus,  as  before  indicated,  (lov- 
eiiior  Perez  found  Sergeant  Vigil,  while  the  insurrec- 
tionary  hordes   were  descending   iip<m    him    from    the 


OF    THE    TKRIUTORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  211 

North.  He  was  released,  and,  with  the  few  others  who 
still  stood  by  the  ill-fated  governor,  accompanied  him 
in  a  forlorn  hope  to  the  Canada,  where,  meeting  the 
insurrectionists.  Governor  Perez  was  defeated  by  over- 
powering numbers,  Perez,  with  a  few  followers,  barely 
escaping,  while  Vigil,  with  many  others,  was  taken 
prisoner,  confined  at  Santa  Cruz  and  placed  in  man- 
acles of  rawhide.  The  revolutionary  forces  were  largely 
composed  of  Pueblo  Indians,  who  were  highly  excited 
and  turbulent  under  the  vicious  and  designing  misrep- 
resentations which  had  incited  the  uprising.  Thus 
situated,  the  prisoners  were  in  constant  expectation  of 
being  summarily  put  to  death. 

In  a  few  days,  however,  and  immediateh'  following 
the  assassination  of  Governor  Perez,  and  the  issuing  of 
a  pronunciamento  by  the  insurgent  commander,  declar- 
ing himself  provisional  governor,  an  order  came  from 
the  latter  for  the  removal  of  Vigil  from  Santa  Cruz 
to  Santa  F^,  where  he  was  set  at  liberty.  It  was  be- 
lieved by  Vigil  that  this  clemency  was  owing  largely 
to  the  fact  of  his  unjust  incarceration  by  Cavallero, 
Sergeant  A^igil,  after  visiting  his  family,  reported  to 
Captain  lionquillo,  of  his  company,  for  duty.  Ron- 
ciuillo,  however,  said  to  him  that  he  was  alone  and 
powerless;  that  the  insurgents  were  in  full  possession 
of  the  capital,  and  that  he  was  at  liberty  to  pursue 
such  a  course  as,  in  his  judgment,  was  best,  in  view  of 
the  situation. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Provisional  Governor  had 
called  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  generally  to  meet  in 
the  portal  of  the  Palace,  to  consider  the  exigencies  of 
the  situation.  Among  those  present  and  participating 
were  the  Fr.  Antonio  Jose  Martinez,  Manuel  Armijo 


212  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

and  Juan  Jose  Esquibel,  who  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  draft  a  statement  of  the  grievances  of  the 
people  and  tlieir  loyalty,  by  them  to  be  presented  to 
the  Supreme  Government  of  Mexico.  The  proceedings 
of  the  meeting  also  show  that  the  following  named 
officers  were  authorized  to  sign  and  authenticate  the 
statement,  who  were :  "His  Excellency',  the  Acting  Gov- 
ernor, Jose  Gonzales;  the  Commanding  General,  the 
Inspector,  Jose  Ma.  Konquillo;  and  the  Acting  Secre- 
tary, Sergeant  Donaciano  Vigil."  This  meeting  was 
held  on  the  27th  and  2Sth  days  of  August,  1837,  being 
eighteen  days  after  the  assassination  of  Governor 
I'erez.  It  is  proper  to  state  that  in  the  month  of  Janu- 
ary following,  on  the  28th,  Manuel  Armijo,  who  was 
present  at  this  meeting,  having  enlisted  a  force  of  some 
six  hundred  men  in  the  Rio  Abajo  (Valley  of  the  Rio 
Grande),  executed  a  coup  dc  main  on  the  government 
of  Gonzales,  shot  him,  caused  others  to  be  executed,  and 
then,  in  turn,  issued  his  pronunciamento,  proclaiming 
himself  governor.  A  few  months  later,  Armijo  having 
gone  to  the  Cit}'  of  Mexico  and  presented  his  own  case, 
returned  with  an  appointment  as  governor  of  the 
Territory. 

In  1838,  Vigil  led  another  expedition  against  the 
Navajos.  In  the  meantime  he  had  been  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Departmental  Assembly.  It  was  about  this 
time,  also,  that  Captain  Cavallero  emerged  from  his 
hiding  place  and  again  demonstrated  his  soldierly  qual- 
ities by  ordering  the  arrest  of  Vigil  on  the  old  charges, 
and  he  was  again  placed  in  the  Palace. 

On  the  10th  of  September,  1839,  however,  Governor 
Armijo  ordered  his  release  and  gave  him  a  detail  as 
Military    Se<retary,    the   Governor   remarking   to    the 


OP    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  213 

Secretary :  "Let  Cavallero  and  all  your  enemies  do 
their  best;  I  will  stand  by  you."  Tims  ended  this 
cowardly  persecution. 

It  is  a  peculiar  factor  in  the  career  of  Governor 
Armijo,  that  while  Vigil  was  frequently  found  standing 
as  a  bulwark  between  Armijo  and  the  people,  with  all 
the  courage  of  conviction,  risking  even  his  life  against 
his  autocratic  policy  and  oppressions,  Armijo  soon 
came  to  acknowledge  his  strength  among  the  people,  by 
yielding  to  his  advice  at  times,  and  to  appreciate  the 
value  of  maintaining  friendly  relations,  by  his  respect- 
ful bearing  toward  Vigil,  and  in  having  him  detailed 
for  service  in  his  immediate  office.  As  a  rule,  he  was 
overbearing  and  despotic  in  the  extreme  to  those 
around  him  or  whom  he  suspected  of  being  opposed  to 
him.  Except  at  brief  intervals.  Vigil  remained  as 
private  and  Military  Secretary  at  the  office  of  the 
executive  until  the  8tli  day  of  December,  1843,  at 
which  date  he  retired  with  a  change  of  administration. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  he  had  been  promoted, 
in  1841,  to  Ensign  in  the  company  of  Taos ;  in  the  year 
following,  to  First  Lieutenant  of  his  old  company  of 
El  Bado;  for  gallant  services  in  the  capture  of  the 
Texas  invaders,  the  same  year,  brevetted  captain  and, 
under  date  of  April  18,  1842,  was  commissioned  Cap- 
tain of  his  company  by  President  Santa  Ana.  In  1843 
he  was  a  second  time  elected  to  the  Departmental  As- 
sembly. In  1845  he  was  sent  to  Chihuahua  to  purchase 
military  supplies.  His  mission,  by  reason  of  the  press- 
ing local  demand  to  meet  the  advance  of  General  Tay- 
lor, with  the  forces  of  the  United  States  on  the  Rio 
"Grande,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  Mexico, 
was  unsuccessful.    While  thus  engaged,  he  was  assigned 


214  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

by  Governor  Trias  to  the  command  of  the  garrison  at 
Chihuahua  and  served  for  several  months  in  that  ca- 
pacity. Upon  his  return  to  New  Mexico  he  was  detailed 
on  the  general  staff  of  the  Oovernor  and  Commanding 
(Jeneral  of  the  department  for  duty  at  headquarters, 
and  thus  served  until  the  near  approach  of  the  Army 
of  the  West  under  (Jeneral  Kearny,  in  August,  1<S4G, 
made  his  presence  in  the  field  necessary. 

Volunteers  had  prompth'  responded  to  the  call  of 
(Jeneral  Armijo,  which,  with  the  dragoons  and  garrison 
troops  in  camp  at  and  near  Santa  F6,  augmented  his 
forces  to  four  thousand  men.  Most  of  this  force  was 
mounted  and  all  i)rovided  with  arms  and  ammunition. 
With  the  approach  of  the  trooj)s  under  General  Kearny, 
Armijo  concentrated  his  command  in  the  Apache  Can- 
yon and  in  the  mountains  to  the  southeast  of  Santa  F6, 
a  location  most  admirably  chosen  for  purposes  of  de- 
fense. General  Armijo  had  proclaimed  at  public  meet- 
ings and  elsewhere,  when  the  subject  of  ways  and 
means  was  being  discussed  for  repelling  the  advancing 
army  from  the  east,  that  he  was  willing  to  sacrifice 
his  life  and  property  in  the  defense  of  his  country. 
The  troo|)s  of  Armijo  had  all  gathered  at  the  Apache 
Canyon,  as  contemplated,  and  Captain  Vigil  was  giving 
his  cordial  co-operation  and  support,  very  properly 
believing  their  i)osition  imj)i'egnable,  under  a  deter- 
mined stand  and  intelligent  direction. 

Word  finally  came  that  the  American  army,  fifteen 
hundred  strong,  was  only  five  leagues  distant.  General 
.\iiiiijo  immediately  summoned  a  council  of  the  officers 
of  tlio  regular  trooj)s.  lie  was  told,  as  he  had  been 
jtrcviously  by  a  council  of  the  volunteers  and  citizens, 
"that  they  should  march  at  once,  meet  the  enemy  and 


OF    THE    TERIUTOUY    OF    NEW     MEXICO.  '2\~) 

give  them  battle;  which  beinj^  made  known  to  the 
troops  was  received  with  shouts  and  acchimations  of 
pleasure.-'  Whei'euj)on  Armijo  responded  tliat  he  had 
resolved  to  advance;  but  as  soon  as  the  citizens  had 
retired,  he  ordered  the  dragoons  to  countermarch,  tak- 
ing with  them  the  artillery,  of  which  he  had  three 
pieces.  His  object  soon  being  ajtparent,  to  the  ]>rotests 
of  the  officers,  he  responded  with  gross  abuse,  telling 
them,  among  other  things,  that  they  were  cowards,  and 
that  he  would  not  risk  a  battle  where  the  only  disci- 
l)line  and  experience  of  a  large  portion  of  the  men  was 
that  gained  in  fighting  Indians.  He  was  told  that 
"he  knew  the  character  and  discipline  of  his  men  as 
well  before  as  after  ordering  them  out!  They  had  all 
expressed  their  willingness  to  fight  and  it  was  his  duty 
to  lead  I  If  it  was  not  his  ])urpose  to  engage  the  enemy, 
why  had  he  ordered  them  in  the  field?" 

It  was  all  to  no  ])urpose.  however.  He  ordered  all, 
except  the  dragoons,  to  return  to  their  homes.  The 
latter  were  ordered  south,  following  the  line  of  the 
mountains  south  of  Santa  Fe  to  the  valley  of  the  Rio 
(irande.  (leneral  Armijo.  with  a  body  guard  of 
dragoons,  took  the  advance  for  Chihuahua.  It  had 
been  determined,  in  the  event  of  retreat  becoming  neces- 
sary, that  Captain  Yigil  should  accompany  General 
Armijo  as  far  as  Socorro.  Under  the  circumstances, 
he  peremptorily  declined,  not  choosing  to  subject  him- 
self and  men  to  the  cai)rice  of  one  who  had  just  jiroved 
himself  so  much  of  a  ])oltroon.  notwithstanding  the 
generally  pleasant  relations  existing  between  them  in 
the  past. 

Keenly  feeling  the  disgrace  to  his  country  in  the 
conduct  of  Armijo  and  the  hopelessness  of  stability 


21G  THE    MILITARY    OCCUrATION 

under  tlio  ^loxican  governinent;  agjjravated  by  a  knowl- 
od<;e  of  tlie  shanieloss  peculations  of  those  in  control 
of  the  govcrninont,  and  the  chronic  oppression  which 
rested  upon  the  masses  of  the  people,  Captain  Vigil 
naturally  concluded  there  might  be  relief  for  his  people 
in  the  coming  of  the  army  of  the  United  States.  He 
naturally  loved  liberty  for  liberty's  sake.  He  realized 
that  the  reforms  under  the  Rei)ublic  of  ^fexico,  so  often 
promised,  would  never  be  realized.  His  familiar  inter- 
course during  the  generation  previous  with  the  Santa 
Fe  trader,  with  "Americans"  fresh  from  the  "States." 
doubtless  contributed  to  the  determination  of  his 
course.  Pride  pointed  in  one  direction ;  duty  in  the 
other.  The  latter  prevailed  and  he  j)romptly  resigned 
his  commission  as  Cai)tain,  to  submit  to  what  was  not 
only  best  for  his  people,  but  to  the  then  inevitable.  His 
first  act,  following  his  resignation,  was  to  consult  with 
his  friends  and  counsel  non-resistance  and  to  prepare 
a  i)roclamation  or  address  to  the  people  assuring  safety 
in  [>ers()n  and  recommending  a  yielding  to  the  forces 
of  the  United  States.  This  proclamation  was  signed 
by  the  Secretary  and  acting  governor  and  published. 
The  present  effect  was  to  allay  fears  and  the  staying 
of  any  power  for  evil  which  otherwise  might  have  been 
j)ossible  under  the  lead  of  some  of  the  ambitious  men 
at  that  time  living  at  the  capital.  There  is  small  doubt 
that  the  occui)ation  of  the  Capital  by  General  Kearny, 
without  the  loss  of  life  in  bloody  conflict  was  largely 
due  to  the  sagacious  foresight  and  patriotic  action  of 
Taplain  A'igil. 

Theie  is  also  some  significance  in  the  fact  that 
•Inan  T'autista  Vigil  y  Alai-id.  a  cousin  of  Donaciano's. 
ilie  last  Secretary  under  the  Mexican  government,  and 


OF    THE    TKRRITOKY    OF    NKW    MEXICO.  217 

after  the  flight  of  Armijo,  the  hist  executive,  forinally 
turned  over  the  city  to  General  Kearny,  took  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  government  of  the  United  States 
and  continued  to  act  as  secretary  up  to  the  formal 
promulgation  of  the  civil  government,  under  the  code 
of  laws  prepared  by  General  Kearny,  on  September  22, 
1S4G,  and  the  appointment  of  civil  officials. 

Charles  Bent,  an  American  merchant,  who  for 
many  years  had  been  familiar  with  the  country,  the 
people  and  their  language,  his  wife  a  native  of  the 
countr}',  was  very  properly  selected  for  chief  execu- 
tive. Next  in  rank  was  the  Secretary  of  the  Territory. 
For  this  office  Donaciano  Vigil  was  selected,  as  not  only 
having  given  the  highest  evidence  of  his  friendship  for 
the  United  States  government,  but  as  combining  the 
qualities  of  natural  love  for  liberty,  popularity  among 
the  masses  of  the  people,  and  ability.  His  perfect 
familiarity  with  the  country,  the  people  and  its  re- 
sources made  him  of  the  highest  possible  advantage  in 
council  and  to  General  Kearny  and  his  successors. 

His  subtleness  in  discovering  conspiracy  became 
proverbial,  and  brought  down  on  his  devoted  head  mob 
violence  and  a  necessity  for  guarding  his  movements. 
For  a  time  a  guard  was  regularly  detailed  for  service 
at  his  office,  and  for  nearly  two  years  his  friends  would 
not  permit  him  to  appear  on  the  street  without  an  eye 
to  surroundings.  The  plot  of  December,  184G,  for  an 
uprising  against  the  new  government  was  by  him  dis- 
covered, and,  as  a  consequence,  at  the  time  defeated. 
In  like  manner  other  plots  were  discovered  and  de- 
feated. In  this  he  was  materially  aided  by  the  ''com- 
mon people,"  who  remained  from  the  first  his  steadfast 
friends.    Nothing  seriously  detrimental  to  the  new  gov- 


21S  tup:  military  occipation 

eminent  was  ever  attempted  dnring  the  time  he  was 
connected  witli  the  Territorial  government  but  what  he 
was  advised  of  tlie  movement  in  advance.  The  people, 
in  contradistinction  to  the  leaders  and  their  immediate 
friends,  were  specially  interested  in  the  permanent 
establishment  of  the  new  order  of  things.  Under  the 
new  they  had  everything  to  gain;  with  the  old  there 
was  nothing  to  hope  for. 

In  January,  1847,  disturbance  seemed  imminent  at 
Taos;  the  malcontents  had  succeeded  in  stirring  up  dis- 
content and  dissensions  among  the  l*ueblo  Indians  and 
the  more  ignorant  and  vicious  classes  in  remote  dis- 
tricts. Governor  Bent  thought  to  allay  the  growing 
storm  by  ajtpearing  in  person  among  those  with  whom 
he  had  lived  for  years,  never  doubting  that  his  personal 
inHuence  would  be  equal  to  an^-  emergency. 

His  friends  sought  to  jirevail  upon  him  not  to  go 
to  Taos  until  the  troops  could  be  sent  with  him.  Secre- 
tary Vigil  advised  him  that  his  undertaking  was  rash, 
and  begged  him  not  to  think  of  it.  Governor  Bent  per- 
sisted, however,  and  the  result  was  a  verification  of 
their  worst  fears.  The  sad  intelligence  soon  returned 
of  his  assassination,  and  that  the  storm  of  insurrection 
had  come  -and  was  rajtidly  spreading.  The  regular 
troops  that  could  be  si)ared  from  Santa  V6,  with  a  con- 
siderable force  of  volunttH?rs,  immediately  took  up  the 
line  of  march  to  the  seat  of  war.  The  troops  were  met 
near  Canada  by  the  insurgent  force,  where,  after  a 
battle  lasting  all  day.  they  were  defeated  and  driven 
to  lOmbudo,  and  from  that  place  to  Taos,  where  a  stand 
was  made  for  a  time,  but  were  finally  given  a  crushing 
defeat. 


OF    TIIIO    TEIIRITORY    OF    NEW     MEXICO.  219 

Secretary  Vigil,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  succeeded 
Governor  Bent,  and  a  few  niontlis  later  was  appointed 
governor,  as  aj)pears  from  the  following  order: 

''Headquarters  ]S'inth  Military  Department, 
''Santa  Fe,  December  17,  1847. 
''General  Orders  No.  10. 

"Lieutenant  Governor  Donaciano  Vigil  is  hereby 
api)ointed  Civil  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  New 
Mexico. 

"By  order  of  Brig.  Gen.  S.  Price. 

"W.  E.  PRINCE, 
"A.  D.  C.  and  A.  A.  Adj't  Gen." 

The  appointment  was  confirmed  at  Washington, 
and  Governor  A  igil  remained  the  chief  executive  of 
New  Mexico  until  the  office  was  merged  into  that  of 
the  Department  Commander,  following  the  cessation 
of  hostilities.  Among  the  first  acts  as  governor  was 
the  issuing  of  a  proclanmtion  deprecating  the  assassi- 
nation of  Governor  Bent,  and  bidding  for  the  appre- 
hension of  the  chief  conspirators. 

It  was  contemplated  in  the  proclamations  of  Gen- 
eral Kearny  that  New  ^lexico  should  have  a  Legislative 
Assembly,  and,  in  accordance  with  this  idea,  in  re- 
sponse to  repeated  petitions  from  many  sources,  in  the 
summer  of  1847,  Governor  A'igil  issued  a  proclamation 
for  an  election.  ^Members  were  elected  and  the  first 
deliberative  body  convened  in  New  ^lexico,  under  the 
United  States  government,  met  at  Santa  Fe  on  the  6th 
day  of  December,  1847,  on  Avhich  date  (Governor  Vigil 
delivered  his  first  message. 

This  message,  coming  as  it  did  from  a  native  of  the 
countrv,  can  not  be  regarded  as  otherwise  than  memor- 


220  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

able.  It  is  a  document  that  will  ever  be  read  with 
interest,  particularly  for  its  comprehensive  and  ethical 
spirit. 

Not  the  least  feature  is  that  contemplating  ''free- 
dom from  revolutions  and  internal  dissensions,  the 
security  of  person  and  property"  and  the  prosperity 
that  must  follow. 

Among  the  subjects  treated  which  will  be  appre- 
ciated by  those  familiar  with  the  gross  irregularities 
ingrained  in  society  and  the  entire  administration 
under  the  Mexican  government,  he  calls  attention  to 
the  necessity  of  limiting  and  defining  the  powers  of  pre- 
fects and  the  holding  of  these  officials  to  a  stricter 
ficcountability  in  the  handling  of  public  funds;  the 
necessity  for  some  provision  of  law  to  prevent  the  de- 
frauding of  the  revenue  and  also  the  defrauding  of  the 
Pueblo  Indians;  that  cemeteries  should  be  left  to  local 
control,  open  to  all  and  to  optional  religious  cere- 
monials at  burials,  and  a  more  equitable  distribution 
of  the  water  for  irrigation,  whereby  the  poor  man,  with 
his  small  tract,  should  be  placed  on  an  equality  with 
the  rich  man  and  his  broad  acres. 

A  large  portion  of  the  message  is  devoted  to  educa- 
tion; to  the  almost  entire  absence  of  schools,  of  their 
imf)erative  necessity  among  a  free  people,  and  advocat- 
ing such  legislation  as  would  secure  free  schools  for  the 
masses.  On  this  subject  fJovernor  Vigil  said:  "In  the 
contemplation  of  the  institutions  of  a  free  i)eople  by 
those  who  do  not  enjoy  the  same  benefits  they  perceive, 
as  by  instinct,  that  they,  too,  have  rights,  and  they 
meditate  over  it  until  they  assert  them,  value  and  enjoy 
them.  It  is  only  through  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
that  a  people  are  enabled  to  follow  the  example  of  those 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  221 

nations  whose  wise  policy  shows  itself  in  the  higher 
intelligence  and  happiness  of  its  people.  The  world 
generally  is  progressive,  and  how  can  we  avail  ourselves 
of  the  advancement  unless  the  people  are  educated?" 

Governor  Vigil  was  found  on  the  side  of  the  people 
as  against  the  imperious  exactions  and  oppressions  of 
the  priests,  as  well  as  against  those  of  the  politicians, 
both  of  whom  were  alike  resting  as  an  incubus  upon 
the  country  in  184G,  rock-rooted  and  moss-grown,  in 
contradistinction  of  the  most  sacred  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  humanity,  by  the  authority  and  prestige  of 
nearly  three  centuries  of  church  and  state  combined. 
Not  only  his  voice,  but  his  pen,  were  frequently  brought 
to  this  service,  as  sundry  pamphlets  and  newspaper 
articles  still  extant  attest.  He  found  no  fault  with  the 
people  for  their  unfortunate  surroundings.  He  re- 
garded the  situation  as  the  result  of  a  vicious  system, 
for  which  they  were  not  responsible,  and  which  was 
their  misfortune. 

He  had  an  abiding  faith  that,  with  enlarged  pow- 
ers, with  education,  as  free  men,  they  would  relegate 
this  system  to  the  rear  and,  in  the  end,  entirely  free 
themselves  from  their  oppressors.  He  freely  sought  to 
impress  upon  his  people  their  duties,  under  the  en- 
larged powers  coming  with  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  together  with  the  right  of  free  discus- 
sion. He  had  no  concern  for  that  sentiment  which  is 
expressed  in  ''there  are  many  things  which,  however 
well  they  may  be  known,  must  never  be  mentioned," 
Avhen  applied  adversel}'  either  to  the  state  or  to  the 
material  interests  of  society.  He  believed  with  the  old 
reformers  that  the  best  safeguard  of  a  free  peo])le  un- 
der a  free  government  was  free  speech  and  free  dis- 


--li  TIIK    illLITAUY    OCCUPATION 

fussion.  On  this  account,  in  all  his  acts  as  an  official, 
ho  was  constantly  gi'api)linj>;  with  and  laying  bare 
whatever  affected  human  rights  adversely;  confront- 
ing alike  all  leaders,  whatever  their  cast  or  profession, 
whenever  their  inrtuen(e  was  cast  in  derogation  of  lib- 
erty, either  in  the  person  or  the  conscience. 

Governor  Vigil  lived  to  see  his  hopes  and  predic- 
tions largely  consummated.  The  population  of  New 
Mexico  more  than  doubled  from  the  time  of  the  coming 
of  Kearny  until  his  death.  Educational  facilities  were 
extended.  The  nomadic  Indian  tribes  were  no  longer 
a  terror  to  the  border  settlers.  Mail  routes  and  tele- 
graph lines  stretched  in  every  direction,  and  the  rail- 
road had  already  touched  the  northei'u  boundary  line 
of  the  Territory.  The  old  "Santa  F6  Trail"  had  passed 
into  history. 

On  the  11th  day  of  October,  1848,  Governor  Vigil 
was  succeeded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Washington,  as 
civil  and  military  governor  and  commandant  of  the 
dej)artment.  Hy  re<iuest,  Governor  Vigil  accepted  a  re- 
aj)j)ointment  as  Secirtary  of  the  Territory,  and  in  this 
capacity  continued  to  serve  the  Territory  with  the  same 
interest  and  efficiency  as  in  the  past,  and  until  the  for 
mal  organization  of  the  Territory  on  the  .Srd  day  of 
March,  1S51. 

A  convention  had  been  called  to  consider  the  form 
of  government  desirable,  and  whether  with  or  without 
slavery.  This  convention  met  at  Santa  Fc  the  day  fol- 
lowing the  inauguration  of  Governor  Washington.  The 
late  goveiiior  had  been  elected  a  member  of  this  vtm- 
vcntion  from  Santa  I'Y*.  Here,  again,  when  the  now 
well  known  fact  is  cfmsidered  that  the  acquisition  of 
New    Mexico   and   California    had   as  a  s})ecial   object 


OF    Till-:    TICUUITOUY    OF    XKW     MEXICO.  223 

with  some  of  the  statesmen  of  the  day  tlie  formation 
of  several  additional  slave  states,  the  power  and  influ- 
ence of  (Jovernor  Vif>il  was  felt  for  the  good  of  the 
entire  ])eople.  In  the  committee  to  draft  a  memorial 
to  congress,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  he  jtroved  to 
be  the  controlling  spirit,  securing  the  insertion  in  and 
ado])ti<)n  of  a  report  declaring  distinctly  in  favor  of 
a  ''Territorial  civil  government,"  and  that  "We  do  not 
desire  to  have  domestic  slavery  within  our  borders." 
The  report  of  the  committee  was  adopted  and  finally 
signed  by  every  member  of  the  convention.  He  was 
also  opposed  to  the  j>eonage  system. 

When  Chief  Justice  Grafton  Baker  was  about 
holding  the  first  district  court  at  Santa  Fe  under  the 
organic  act,  it  was  the  intention  to  use  the  Castrensa  or 
military  chapel,  then  located  on  the  south  side  of  the 
plaza,  for  a  court  room.  This  was  an  act  wherein 
Governor  Vigil  felt  that  the  rights  or  ancient  usages 
of  the  church  and  of  the  people  Avere  being  unneces- 
sarily trampled  ujion.  It  came  to  the  attention  of  the 
court  on  the  empaneling  of  the  grand  jury.  Governor 
Vigil,  being  one  of 'the  number  summoned,  objected  to 
being  sworn,  for  the  reason  that  '"the  court  was  being 
held  in  a  place  consecrated  to  sacred  objects;  that  the 
forefathers  of  himself  and  many  others  present  were 
there  buried ;  that  with  all  due  respect  to  the  civil  au- 
thority he  protested  against  the  use  of  the  chapel  for 
civil  ])urj)Oses,  and  begged  to  be  excused  from  serving 
the  court  where  he  could  not  help  feeling  that  he  was 
treading  upon  the  ashes  of  his  ancestors."  His  protest 
and  request  were  deemed  reasonable  and  were  re- 
spected, and  a  room  in  the  old  palace  was  assigned  for 
the  use  of  the  court  thereafter. 


224  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

With  the  establisliinont  of  the  diocese  of  Santa 
F6  in  1850  and  the  coming  of  Bishop  J.  B.  Lamy,  with 
the  radical  changes  following,  also  came  in  time  for- 
midable ojijtosition  from  the  old  clergy  and  their  ad- 
herents, in  one  instance,  at  least,  resulting  in  riot  and 
violence.  Here  the  good  offices  of  Governor  Vigil  were 
again  made  manifest  in  allaying  asperities,  counseling 
moderation  and  in  a  final  yielding  to  the  new  episco- 
])ate  authority.  Thus  was  Donaciano  Vigil — ever  aim- 
ing to  be  just,  whatever  the  interest  affected,  whether 
that  of  the  people,  the  government,  of  religion  or  of  the 
clergy. 

Under  the  organic  act  he  was  elected  repeatedly 
to  the  legislative  Assembl}',  and  was  a  member,  re- 
spectively, for  the  House,  first  session  (1851-1852)  ;  to 
the  Council  of  the  seventh,  eighth,  thirteenth  and  four- 
teenth sessions,  the  last  being  in  18G4-65, 

In  legislative  matters  Governor  Vigil  was  as  much 
the  "watchdog,"  so  to  speak,  as  could  be  imagined. 
He  was  dreaded  in  the  partisan  or  factional  caucus, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  was  sometimes  left  out  when 
some  sort  of  legislative  jobbery  was  contemplated.  A 
l»olitician  of  the  predatory  sort  once  said  of  Governor 
Vigil:  "Oh!  He  is  a  nice,  clever  old  gentleman,  but 
rather  impracticable  from  my  point  of  view.  I  always 
noticed,  when  he  was  a  member  of  the  assembly,  that 
when  any  matter  of  'special  importance'  was  under 
consideration  at  any  of  the  'juntas,'  that  he  was  liable 
to  be  left  out."  The  "old  gentleman"  could  not  have  re- 
ceived a  higher  compliment.  He  was  known  to  be  fair 
and  honest.  In  politics,  up  to  1855,  he  had  generally 
been  with  the  Democratic  party.  After  that  time  he 
took  no  really  active  part  in  politics,  but  always  re- 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  225 

maitied  a  firm  friend  of  the  Union  and  the  government. 
At  no  time  in  his  official  career  can  he  be  said  to  have 
been  a  partisan. 

In  May,  1853,  he,  with  Samuel  Ellison,  was  com- 
missioned by  (lovernor  William  Carr  Lane  to  proceed 
to  the  Naviijo  countiT  to  procure  certain  captives,  and 
incidentally  secure,  if  possible,  the  return  of  certain 
stock  that  had  been  stolen.  This  commission  was  very 
successful,  securing  the  restoration  to  their  friends  of 
a  number  of  women  and  children,  although  at  first  the 
Indians  maintained  a  very  defiant  attitude.  His  last 
oflScial  position  was  that  of  school  director  in  San 
Miguel  county,  under  the  school  law  of  1871-'72.  While 
the  infirmities  of  age  made  it  quite  impossible  to  be 
very  active,  he  retained  a  lively  interest  in  public 
schools  to  the  very  last.  He  was  always  watchful  of 
the  course  of  legislation  in  educational  matters. 

During  the  war  of  the  rebellion  he  was  a  staunch, 
uncompromising  Union  man.  In  person  he  was  tall 
and  stately,  a  powerful  frame,  and  very  dignified.  He 
was  very  cheerful  in  conversation  and  was  always 
courteous  and  kind.  At  sight  he  impressed  others  as 
being  a  person  of  no  ordinary  character.  He  was  very 
liberal  in  his  charities;  for  months  at  a  time,  while 
Secretary  and  Governor,  he  dispensed  the  larger  por- 
tion of  his  salar}-  to  the  poor,  although  himself  a  very 
])Oor  man.  All  the  old  residents  agree  as  to  his  uni- 
form integrity,  courtesy  and  high  sense  of  honor. 

In  1849  Governor  Vigil  was  asked  by  Colonel  John 
Munroe,  at  the  time  commander  of  the  ninth  military 
department,  what  were  his  feelings  toward  the  Mexi- 
can government,  when  resigning  his  commission  and 
recommending  his  people  to  submit  to  the  forces  of  the 


226  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

United  States.  Governor  Vigil  replied:  ''I  felt  very 
much  as  a  son  would  feel  towards  a  father  who  had 
given  him  little  or  no  attention  in  his  youthful  days, 
except  as  he  exacted  his  hard  earnings,  and  left  him 
to  shift  for  himself  when  in  trouble." 

Governor  Vigil  died  at  the  residence  of  his  son, 
Epifanio,  in  the  city  of  Santa  F6,  on  Saturday,  the 
11th  day  of  August,  1877,  at  6:45  a.  m.,  aged  75  years. 
A  combination  of  asthma  and  hernia,  which  had  trou- 
bled him,  more  or  less,  for  many  years,  doubtless  was 
the  immediate  cause  of  his  death.  He  retained  his 
faculties  to  the  last,  expressed  resignation  to  his  fate 
and  expired  without  a  struggle  or  convulsion. 

There  are  no  two  opinions  as  to  his  high  character, 
patriotism  and  sagacity.  His  power  and  influence  were 
that  of  the  man,  not  of  wealth  or  family.  All  joined 
in  paying  tribute  to  his  memory.  The  response  to  the 
proclamation  of  the  governor,  announcing  his  death, 
and  calling  a  meeting  at  the  legislative  hall  to  pay  the 
honors  due  at  the  obsequies  of  the  illustrious  deceased, 
was  responded  to  promptly  and  generally,  but  particu- 
larly by  those  who  had  longest  known  him.  The  old 
citizens,  the  civil  and  military  officers,  the  merchants, 
the  native  and  eastern  poj)ulation,  everybody,  turned 
out  on  short  notice.  It  was  by  far  the  largest  and 
most  distinguished  gathering  ever  witnessed  in  New 
Mexico.  It  was  the  hearty  acknowledgment  and  trib- 
ute of  man's  best  nature  to  a  late  distinguished  citizen, 
officer  and  true  man.  His  remains  lay  in  state,  draped 
with  the  flag  of  his  adopted  country,  in  the  old  Palace, 
just  where  he  had  been  almost  uninterruptedly  for  half 
a  century,  intimately  and  honorably  associated  with 
the  affairs  of  New  Mexico.     A  militar}'  guard  was  in 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  227 

attendance,  detailed  from  the  military  headquarters  of 
the  district,  and  flags  were  at  half  staff  at  the  executive 
office,  the  post  and  at  military  headquarters.  The 
obsequies  were  held  at  the  cathedral  and  an  immense 
concourse  of  friends,  military  and  civil  officers  and 
citizens  generally  followed  the  remains  to  the  gi'ave. 

The  history  of  the  career  of  Uonaciano  Vigil,  the 
firm  friend  of  liberty  and  humanity,  belongs  to  the 
people  of  New  Mexico.  His  is  a  record  of  which  the 
people  may  be  proud;  a  record  which  all  lovers  of  free 
government  will  the  more  delight  to  honor  as  time 
elapses  and  his  distinguished  merits  are  best  under- 
stood. It  is  a  record  which  the  native  son  of  New 
Mexico  should  ever  try  to  emulate. 

A  very  large  public  meeting  was  held  in  Santa  Fe, 
on  the  day  of  the  death  of  Governor  Vigil,  called  by  the 
proclamation  of  the  governor.  This  meeting  adopted 
resolutions,  prepared  by  Hon.  Stephen  B.  Elkins,  which 
show  the  esteem  in  which  the  late  governor  was  held  by 
the  people  with  whom  he  had  lived  for  seventy-five 
years;  the  resolutions  follow: 

''Whereas^  The  people  of  New  Mexico,  being  de- 
sirous of  recording  the  high  appreciation  of  the  great 
worth  of  Donaciano  Vigil,  as  a  citizen  and  official,  and 
bearing  testimony  to  his  mau}^  virtues ;  therefore,  be  it 

"Resolved,  That  the  people  of  New  Mexico  have 
received,  with  dee])est  regret,  the  sad  intelligence  of 
the  death  of  Governor  Donaciano  Vigil,  who,  for  more 
than  fifty  jears,  was  a  distinguished  and  worthy  citizen 
of  the  Territory. 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  with  sorrow  we  part  with  the 
deceased,  distinguished  for  his  administrative  ability, 
his  perfect  integrity,  just  in  the  exercise  of  his  preroga- 


S2ii  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

tives,  when  governor  of  the  Territory;  respected  by  all, 
beloved  for  his  kindness  of  heart,  his  memory  will  con- 
tinue green  with  his  friends  and  the  people,  as  one  who 
was  the  tyi>e  of  a  perfect  gentleman. 

''Resolved,  That  while  we  bow  our  heads  in  humble 
submission  to  the  unerring  will  of  Providence  in  sever- 
ing a  tie  so  closely  welded  by  long  years  of  intimacy 
with  the  deceased,  in  a  frontier  Territory,  so  incident 
with  danger  and  f-evere  trials  during  many  years  of  his 
life,  we  tender  our  sincere  sympathy  and  condolence  to 
his  family,  assuring  them  that  the  entire  community 
shares  with  them  in  their  great  loss;  be  it  further 

"Resolved.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  with 
the  proceedings  of  the  meeting,  be  furnished  the  family 
of  the  deceased,  and  published  in  all  of  the  papers  of 
the  Territory." 


/ 


Willard  P.  Hall. 


WILLARD  PREBLE  HALL. 

Willard  I'reble  Hall  was  born  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
Virginia,  May  9,  1820.  He  was  of  I'uritan  descent, 
his  ancestors  having  eniigi*ated  to  Massachnsetts  from 
England  in  1634.  In  his  ancestral  lines,  both  paternal 
and  maternal,  were  many  of  the  eminent  jndges.  law- 
yers and  divines  of  England.  His  father  was  a  man 
of  remarkable  mechanical  and  scientific  attainments, 
and  a  celebrated  inventor.  His  preliminary  education 
was  had  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  he  graduated 
from  Yale  college  in  the  class  of  1839 — ^the  same  class 
in  which  were  William  >L  Evarts  and  several  other 
eminent  men. 

In  1S40,  he  came  to  Missouri  and  studied  law  with 
his  brother.  Judge  William  A.  Hall,  of  Randolph 
county.  In  1841,  he  moved  to  IMatte  county,  and  set- 
tled at  Sparta,  the  county  seat.  A  glimpse  of  him  as 
he  was  then  is  given  by  an  old  resident  of  Platte  City, 
with  whom  he  stopped  over  night  on  his  trip  from  Ran- 
dolj)h  to  Sj)arta.  He  described  him  as  a  pale,  delicate 
youth,  dressed  in  blue  jeans,  mounted  on  a  pony,  with 
a  ])air  of  leather  saddle  bags,  containing  his  wardrobe 
and  libraiy.  In  1843,  he  moved  to  Saint  Joseph,  which 
was  his  home  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

He  stei)[>ed  into  immediate  j)rominence  in  his  pro- 
fession and  in  politics.  In  1843,  he  was  aj>|>ointed  cir- 
<  nit  attorney,  succeeiling  a  very  capable  ofTi«ei".  (Jen- 
(Miil  Doniphan,  speaking  of  him  at  this  period,  says: 
'•lie  succeeded  at  once.  System  and  order  and  logical 
;ni;mg<'nient  were  natural  with  him.  He  had  the  crim- 
inal law.  and  especially  the  statutes  of  the  state,  at  his 


MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OV    MOW    MKXICO.  231 

fingers'  ends,  and  could  refer  readily  to  thein  in  a 
moinent's  time.  IMain  and  simple  in  his  manners  as 
a  child,  naturally  frank  and  easy  with  everyone,  he 
soon  became  a  favorite,  and  from  his  youthful  appear- 
ance, even  a  pet  with  his  older  friends.  He  was  a  very 
efficient  and  a  very  conscientious  officer.  He  prevented 
grand  juries  from  presenting  anything  that  could  not 
be  sustained,  and  prosecuted,  with  great  energy,  those 
he  believed  guilty. 

In  1844,  he  was  one  of  the  candidates  on  the  Demo- 
cratic electoral  ticket,  and  canvassed  western  Missouri 
north  of  the  Missouri  river  on  behalf  of  Polk  and 
Dallas,  and  the  annexation  of  Texas.  Doniphan  was 
the  Whig  candidate  for  the  same  office,  and  was  always 
his  antagonist  in  this  canvass.  To  those  who  knew 
what  northwest  Missouri  was  in  those  days,  and  w^hat 
Doniphan  was  in  his  prime,  it  would  be  unnecessary, 
to  those  who  did  not  know  them  it  would  be  impossible, 
to  explain  what  it  meant  for  this  stripling  of  twenty- 
four  jears  to  meet  that  matchless  orator  before  a  peo- 
ple who  loved  and  honoi^ed  him  as  Doniphan  was  loved 
and  honored  in  northwest  Missouri.  How  well  he 
maintained  himself  in  the  contest  is  best  shown  by  the 
fact  that  he  won  the  unqualified  praise  and  admiration 
of  Doniphan,  and  as  the  result  was  made  the  nominee 
of  his  party  for  Congress,  in  1846,  over  the  heads  of 
many  able  veterans  of  his  party. 

The  great  issue  in  the  canvass  of  1844  was  the 
question  of  the  annexation  of  Texas.  In  his  canvass 
for  congress  in  the  spring  of  1846  Mr.  Hall  was  taunted 
with  the  fact  that  the  policy  of  annexation  which  he 
had  advocated  had  plunged  the  country  into  war  with 
Mexico.    Possibly,  in  the  heat  of  debate,  he  had  made 


232  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

some  i)ledges;  but  at  any  rate,  he  made  proof  of  his 
good  faith  in  his  principles  by  volunteering  as  a  i)rivate 
for  service  in  the  war.  His  eompany  formed  a  part  of 
Doniphan's  command  in  his  great  expedition  across 
the  plains  and  through  New  Mexico,  conquering  the 
couuir\  iis  he  went,  until  he  joined  the  army  of  General 
Taylor  in  Old  Mexico;  a  military  feat  which  stands  in 
history  comparable  alone  with  the  retreat  of  the  ten 
thousand  Greeks  recorded  by  Xenophon  in  the  Ana- 
basis. While  the  command  was  at  Fort  Leavenworth, 
preparing  for  its  march,  people  from  all  parts  of  Hall's 
district  came  to  the  fort,  bringing  horses  and  mules 
and  cattle,  and  other  sup])lies  for  the  army,  and  there 
they  saw  their  young  candidate,  clad  in  the  garb  and 
performing  the  menial  services  of  a  private  soldier, 
unloading  the  stores  from  the  boats  and  placing  them 
ill  wagons.  When  they  returned  to  their  homes,  the 
story  of  his  conduct  was  told  all  over  the  district,  and 
the  hearts  of  the  people  were  touched  to  such  an  extent 
that,  although  he  appeared  no  more  in  the  canvass, 
when  the  election  came  on  in  August,  he  was  chosen  to 
congress  by  a  majority  of  three  thousand  out  of  less 
than  ten  thousand  votes. 

After  the  conquest  of  New  Mexico  it  became  neces- 
sary ><►  establish  a  government  over  that  territory,  and 
for  that  purpose  to  frame  a  code  of  laws  adapted  to 
its  condition.  General  K(ainy,  the  commander,  de- 
tailed jnivale  llall  from  the  ranks  to  do  the  work  in 
connection  with  Doniphan.  Together  they  prepared 
the  code  which  General  Kearny  afterwards  fu-oclaimed 
as  the  established  military  law  of  the  territory,  and 
which  was  afterwards  again  ado|)ted  as  the  Territorial 
code,  and  remained  for  fortv-five  vears  the  fundamental 


OF    THE    TKUIUTOUY    OF    NEW    .MEXICO.  Z'.VA 

law  of  the  Territory.  No  one  wlio  knew  Hall  and  Doni- 
phan, and  the  capacity  of  the  former  and  the  disin- 
clination of  the  latter  for  this  kind  of  work,  will  doubt 
that  much  the  greater  part  of  the  labor  was  done  by 
llall.  And  Doniphan  often  said  that  the  work  was 
mainly  Hall's.  It  was  certainly  a  most  remarkable 
duty  to  which  this  private  soldier  was  detailed,  to  write 
laws  that  were  to  govern  the  conquered  country.  The 
code  nmde  a  small  volume,  and  on  the  115  scanty  pages 
is  printed  in  both  English  and  Spanish  this  entire  body 
of  laws,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  find  anywhere 
so  complete  and  perfect  a  system  of  laws  in  many  times 
the  space  covered  here.  Here  we  have  a  bill  of  rights 
announcing  the  great  principles  of  civil  and  religious 
libert}-,  which  are  repeated  over  in  all  our  constitutions, 
and  have  passed  through  the  hands  of  the  greatest 
statesmen  of  Europe,  and  America;  but  here  we  find 
them,  amended  and  strengthened  in  expression,  more 
complete  and  more  beautiful  than  anywhere  else.  Ex- 
amine this  book  and  mark  the  evidences  it  contains  of 
ripened  and  mature  scholarship  and  statesmanship, 
and  then — remembering  that  it  was  prepared,  in  a  few 
daj's'  time,  amid  the  turmoil  of  camp,  by  a  youth  of 
barely  twenty-six  years,  whose  short,  active  life  had 
been  passed  on  this  far  Western  Border,  much  of  it  in 
the  saddle,  in  the  midst  of  legal  and  political  conflicts 
— to  thus  determine  with  what  equi])ment  of  native 
ability,  of  acquired  scholarship  and  experience,  this 
young  man  set  out  on  his  career. 

Colonel  Hughes,  in  his  history  of  the  Doniphan 
Expedition,  tells  us  that  one  day  as  they  were  engaged 
in  preparing  this  code  in  Santa  Fe.  (Jeneral  Doniphan 
entered  the  room  and  announced  to  Hall  the  fact  of 


L'34  TlIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

his  election  to  Congress.  This  was  in  August,  1846. 
He  was  immediately  relieved  from  further  duty  as  a 
soldier,  but  voluntarily  accompanied  Colonel  Phillip 
St.  (Jeorge  Cooke  to  California,  returned  to  Missouri 
the  next  sjiriug,  and  took  his  seat  in  Congress  the  fol- 
lowing winter. 

He  was  twice  re-elected  to  Congress  and  then  de- 
clined further  election.  He  acquired  a  high  reputation 
in  Congress  as  a  working  member. 

At  the  end  of  his  congressional  service  he  returned 
to  Saint  Joseph  and  remained  there  in  practice  until 
18G1.  In  the  winter  of  1861  the  Governor  of  Missouri 
and  the  legislature,  which  was  in  session,  were  both 
strongly  in  favor  of  seceding  and  joining  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  and  for  this  purpose  an  act  was  passed, 
calling  an  election  to  be  held  in  February  of  that  year 
to  choose  delegates  to  a  State  convention,  the  purpose 
of  which,  as  stated  in  the  act,  was  ''To  consider  the 
then  existing  relations  between  the  Government  of  the 
Cnited  States,  the  people  and  the  government  of  the 
different  states,  and  the  government  and  people  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  and  to  adojit  such  measures  for  vin- 
dicating the  sov<  reignty  of  the  state,  and  the  protection 
of  its  institutions,  as  shall  ajipear  to  them  to  be  de- 
manded.'" 

-Mr.  Hall  was  elected  to  that  convention  as  a  Fnion 
man.  In  early  life  he  had  belonged  to  the  extreme 
Southern  wing  of  the  Democratic  party,  but  in  1861 
his  views  had  materially  changed,  and  the  great  issue 
«»f  that  day  found  no  stronger  Union  man  in  Missouri 
or  elsewhere  than  Willard  P.  Hall.  The  convention 
met  in  due  time,  and  instead  of  passing  an  ordinance 
of  secession,  as  it  was  expected  to  do.  resolved  almost 


OF    THE    TERRITOKY    OF    NEW     MEXICO.  235 

unanimously  that  Missouri  liad  no  just  causo  for  seces- 
sion. 

On  July  30,  the  offices  of  Governor  and  Lieutenant 
Governor  were,  by  ordinance  of  the  convention,  de- 
clared vacant,  and,  on  July  31,  Hamilton  K.  Gamble 
was  chosen  Provisional  Governor  and  Willard  T.  Hall, 
Lieutenant  Governor.  It  was  then  only  intended  that 
this  government  should  be  provisional  and  temporary 
until  an  election  could  be  held,  which  was  ordered  for 
the  following  October.  But  the  condition  of  affairs 
continued  to  be  so  disturbed  that  an  election  was 
impracticable,  and  this  provisional  government  re- 
mained in  control  during  the  entire  war  in  Missouri. 
Governor  Gamble  was  in  feeble  health  most  of  the  time, 
and  often  absent  from  the  state  for  weeks  and  months, 
and  died  early  in  1864.  He  was  succeeded  by  Mr,  Hall 
as  governor.  The  burdens  of  the  administration,  there- 
fore, were  throAvn  very  heavily  upon  Hall's  shoulders 
during  the  entire  period. 

This  provisional  government  was  instituted  to 
maintain  law  and  order.  All  the  criminal  and  dis- 
orderly elements  of  society,  which  became  so  numerous 
and  so  defi'ant  in  war,  knew  it  for  their  enemy  and 
fought  it  with  a  rage  and  hatred  that  was  not  exceeded 
by  that  of  the  secessionists.  It  stood  for  civil  govern- 
ment and  law,  entitled  and  bound  to  maintain  its  right- 
ful superiority  over  the  military  power,  and  thus  it  was 
a  constant  check  and  curb  on  the  military  officers  who 
operated  in  the  state,  aroused  their  jealousy  and  met  a 
very  general  opposition  from  them.  It  was  almost 
destitute  of  financial  resources.  It  had  many  active 
foes  and  few  active  friends,  but  those  few  were  a  host 
indeed,  the  ablest,  truest  and  best  men  who  ever  lived 


:.*.■{()  tup:  military  occupation 

in  Missouri;  and  over  and  above  all,  it  had  the  great 
weight  of  the  countenance  and  confidence  and  support 
of  Abraham  Lincoln.  It  carried  the  flag  of  the  State 
and  the  Nation.  It  was  the  ark  of  public  safety  in 
Missouri.  With  (Jamble  and  Hall  as  navigators,  it 
found  its  way  through  the  storms  and  tempests  of  those 
terrible  years,  and  brought  its  priceless  cargo  safe  to 
shore.  But,  at  the  close,  Gamble,  worn  out,  lay  dead 
in  his  grave,  and  liall  looked  back  on  the  weary  waste 
he  had  passed  over,  the  long  succession  of  days  and 
months  and  years  of  toil  and  vexation,  wrong  and 
abuse,  and  bitterness  of  soul,  unrelieved  by  any  evi- 
dence of  gratitude  or  appreciation  on  the  part  of  the 
great  majority  of  the  people. 

In  January,  1805,  he  was  succeeded  as  governor  by 
Thomas  C.  Fletcher. 

The  statesmanship,  fortitude  and  self-sacrificing 
devotion  of  (Jamble  and  Hall,  during  this  period,  en- 
title their  names  to  a  record  in  letters  of  gold  on  the 
faii-est  page  of  the  history  of  the  State.  He  turned 
away  from  official  life  and  from  public  affairs  to  devote 
his  remaining  life  to  the  profession  he  lOved  so  w<  11 
and  for  whidi  he  was  so  eminenth"  fitted.  For  nearly 
twenty  years  he  followed  it,  jjracticing  in  all  the  State 
and  Federal  courts. 

He  was  a  remarkably  tine  and  accurate  general 
s(  holar.  and  he  kept  his  classical  learning,  his  CJreek 
and  Latin,  so  fresh  that  he  was  able  to  fit  his  son  for 
^'al('  <-ollege.  His  manners  were  fiank  and  simple,  al- 
ways |»re(isely  the  s;ime.  whether  greeting  a  supreme 
pnl;;*'.  ,i  jtresident,  a  cabinet  minister,  or  one  of  his 
fellows  at  th'^  bar.     In  this  simplicity  of  demeanor  and 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OP"    NEW    MEXICO.  '2'M 

address  there  was  recognized  a  dignity  which  was  the 
more  impressive  the  better  he  was  known. '^•'' 
He  died  November  3,  1882. 


'""This  account  of  the  life  of  Willard  P.  Hall  is  condensed 
from  a  paper  read  by  John  C.  Gage  before  the  Kansas  City 
Bar  Association,  February  8,  1896. 


^aUl^ 


General  Diego  Archuleta. 


DIEGO  ARCHULETA. 

Diego  Archuleta  was  born  in  the  county  of  Rio 
Arriba,  New  Mexico,  on  the  27th  day  of  March,  1814, 
at  Plaza  Alcalde.  He  received  a  portion  of  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  school  and  with  Fr.  Antonio  Jose 
Martinez.  He  journeyed  to  Durango,  when  a  boy, 
where  he  studied  eight  years,  preparing  himself  for 
the  priesthood.  He  received  the  four  minor  orders 
requisite  for  that  purpose,  but  finally  relinquished  the 
idea  of  becoming  a  priest,  and,  in  1840,  returned  to  the 
Territory  of  New  Mexico  and  settled  in  his  native 
county  of  Rio  Arriba.  Shortly  after  his  return  he  was 
commissioned  a  captain  of  militia  by  the  Mexican  gov- 
ernment, and  in  the  invasion  of  New  Mexico  by  the 
Texas-Santa  F^  Expedition  he  commanded  a  body  of 
troops  and  assisted  in  the  cai)ture  of  the  Texans.  In 
1843  he  was  elected  a  Deputy  to  the  National  Mexican 
Congress  from  New  Mexico,  and  served  with  honor  for 
two  years,  returning  to  New  Mexico  in  1845.  While 
serving  as  a  member  of  the  Congress  in  Mexico  it  is 
said  that  he  prophesied  the  construction,  at  no  then 
distant  ])eriod,  of  a  line  of  railway  from  the  middle 
west  of  the  TTnited  States  of  America  to  the  I'aciflc 
Coast.  In  recognition  of  his  distinguished  services  as 
an  office]*  of  the  Mexican  army  he  was  decorated  with 
the  golden  Cross  of  Honor  and  presented  with  a  di- 
ploma or  certificate  declaratory  of  his  valiant  conduct 
in  preserving  the  integrity  of  Mexican  territory. 

At  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  Army  of  the  West 
under  General  Kearny  he  was  next  in  command  of  the 
military  forces  of  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico  to  Gen- 


240  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

eral  Manuel  Armijo,  and  was  urgent  in  his  demands 
that  the  invasion  be  met  with  prompt  and  eflfective  re- 
sistance. No  resistance,  however,  was  made  either  by 
Arniijo  or  Archuleta,  the  latter  being  a  colonel  and 
second  in  command.  The  reasons  for  this  lack  of  de- 
throw  of  the  government  at  Santa  F6  under  Cireneral 
Arm! jo  were  never  fully  undei*stood  by  the  people  of 
New  Mexico.  After  the  war  Armijo  was  tried  at  the 
City  of  Mexico  for  cowardice  and  desertion  in  the  face 
of  the  enemy ;  witnesses  were  summoned  from  New 
Mexico  for  the  prosecution,  but  Armijo  was  acquitted 
of  the  charges  against  him.  The  secret  history  of  the 
causes  leading  to  the  flight  of  Armijo  and  the  dis- 
I)ersing  of  the  troops  under  his  command,  at  least 
twenty-four  hours  before  General  Kearny  reached  the 
Apache  Pass,  is  told  by  Senator  Thomas  H.  lienton,"" 
who  states  that  at  the  time  of  the  fitting  out  of  the 
expedition  known  as  the  Army  of  the  West,  with  Gen- 
eral Kearny  in  command,  there  was  a  citizen  of  the 
Ignited  States,  long  a  resident  of  New  Mexico,  on  a 
visit  of  business  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington,  by 
name  James  Magoffin,  a  man  of  mind,  of  will,  of  gen- 
erous temjier.  patriotic  and  rich.  Magoffin  knew  every 
man  in  New  Mexico  and  his  character,  and  all  the  lo- 
calities, and  could  be  of  infinite  service  to  the  invading 
force.  Mr.  Benton  ju-oposed  to  ^lagoffin  to  go  with  the 
exi>edition.  to  which  he  agreed.  Magoffin  was  taken 
before  the  I'l-esident  and  Secretary  of  War  and  the  ar- 
rangements were  made,  .\fter  leaving  Rent's  Fort,  on 
the  Arkansas,  Magoffin  was  sent  ahead  with  a  staff" 
officer  (Captain  T'ookei,  the  latter  charged  with  a  mis 
sion.  Magoffin  charged  with  his  own  plan,  which  was 

'"Thirty  Years'  View,  Vol.  II,  pages  682,  683  and  684. 


SELLO   SEOUNDO  M  M       DOC  E  RE  ALES. 

Para  las  anus  de  mil       ^^|y  aJk^        ovhocientos  ciuirenla 

y  mil  ochucientos  ^^^^      ^m^  cuarenUi  y  uno. 


EL    INFRASCRITO    MINISTRO   DE  ESTADO 

y  del  Despacho  de   Guerra  y  Marina. 


JTor  cuanto  en  Decreto  de  28  de  Agosto  de  1840,  y  en  uso  de 
la  facuUad  que  concede  al  Gobiemo  el  Congreso  JVacionoI  en  el 
de  26  del  mismo  met  y  ano,  se  ha  concedido  una  Cruz  de  honor 
a    loB    Generalrs,    Gefes  y    Oficiales   que  han  combatido   en  y/J^^^yay 

y   httbiendo   aereditado  el  Ciudadano  S^z-'r^  ^frrfm/cfivj^ ^wa*tj,i»t*t. 

r//   c'J/i'U.iJri^  .,,-^J,,jJr^    i^a/Mtau   a^z  ^i^uraJe^.     ^afit-   ^m^^rrmfafa   IT   /at /-M-- 
'/  i/^/'a    n  r^,  /^  /iT-r.-n^   /r-  i/if*tMxy  /jr  y/j/^nt^^    ^-'f^ttt  /ni    / 7  pi  C>£atm  -/- 

estar  comprendido  en  el  expresado  pnmer  Decreto;  el  Extno.  Sf-  Pre- 
sidente  ordena  que  se  .le  expida  el  presente  DipUmuL,  per  el  exuil  po- 
drd  usar  de  tan  honorijlco  distintivo,  conforme  al  modelo  que  exit- 
te  en  la  Plana  mayor  del  Ejercito  y  Direccionet  retpectivai,  a  don- 
de  se  tomard  razon  de  este  documento  que  se  le  otorga  como  un  tei- 
limonio  de  »u  valor,  Jidelidad  y  patriotismo.  Dado  en  Mexico  a  »<«•- 
??  ^  tt^-t-'—  de  St)fifn>tAx^dc  xkH  ochoeientoe  cuarenta  y /««<'. 
/f^ioj^^^  /^rini/t^'de  Jo  Independencia  y  "~  -^/j^</^^  -^  ..  __;),d«  la 
tibertad.  /f  ^        ^ 


JHflomm  it  la  Crux  4e  k&nor  .////^/Wj//i»  /^    ctufJc,  tjui  t^pr-     ■ 

^^f/Mtim^tr  ^  <>JiwW*«'  r-^*-/^,    d'^/Mem.i   ^    <^w««^^^_/. 


.::^^^?//^^v^^^.^.,.^y^^^^^^^^^^^. 


^1 


y 


^^^ 


^  ^^.>^^>/^x.^^^  ^^j^'^v^^'^t**^  ^^^.^^"^-*^  A;<-^-^k^A 


MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MKXICO.  243 

to  operate  upon  General  Arniijo  and  i)revent  any  re- 
sistance to  the  American  advance.  This  was  accom- 
plished. Armijo  agreed  to  make  no  defense  of  Apache 
Pass.  But  Colonel  Archuleta,  second  in  command,  was 
determined  to  fight,  and  threats  of  the  assassination 
of  the  commander  in  chief  were  freely  made  by  officers 
of  his  command.*^^  It  was  necessary  to  make  some  ar- 
rangement with  Colonel  Archuleta.  He  was  of  an  en- 
tirely different  mould  from  ]\[anuel  Armijo,  and  only 
accessible  to  a  different  class  of  considerations — those 
which  addressed  themselves  to  ambition  and  power. 
Magoffin  knew  the  side  upon  which  to  approach  him. 
It  so  happened  that  the  understanding  among  all  was 
that  Kearny's  intentions  only  covered  the  conquest  of 
that  portion  of  New  Mexico  lying  east  of  the  Rio 
Grande.  It  was  represented  to  Archuleta  that  Kearny 
would  leave  the  country  to  the  west  of  the  Bravo  un- 
touched. He  was  advised  and  recommended  by  Magof- 
fin to  issue  a  pronunciamento  and  seize  that  portion  of 
the  country  for  himself.  The  idea  suited  Colonel  Ar- 
chuleta. He  knew  the  strength  of  the  United  States 
and  was  only  too  well  aware  of  the  weakness  of  Mex- 
ico. He  agreed  not  to  fight.  The  army  which  had 
gathered  at  the  defile  dispersed,  none  knowing  exactly 
why.  General  Kearny  occupied  the  cai)itol,  and  the 
conquest  was  complete  and  bloodless. 

Colonel  Archuleta  com|)lied  with  his  part  of  the 
contract.  Magoffin  had  been  sincere  in  his  representa- 
tions, but  General  Kearny  had  other  orders  and  took 
possession  of  the  whole  country,  and  moved  on  with  a 
part  of  his  force  to  California.     Archuleta,  deeming 


'•'Statement    made    to    writer    by    Don    Nicholas    Pino,    of 
Galisteo,  N.   M. 


244  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

himself  cheated,  determined  upon  a  revolt.  Colonel 
Archuleta  organized  the  fii*st  conspiracy  for  the  over- 
throw of  the  government  at  Santa  F^  under  General 
Sterling  Price,  who  had  been  left  in  command  by 
Kearny.  This  attempt  was  discovered.  Together  with 
other  prominent  Mexicans,  within  thirty  days  after  the 
discover}-  of  the  first,  he  organized  another  conspiracy, 
which  resulted  in  the  death  of  Governor  Bent  and 
others,  but  which  was  put  down  by  the  American  forces 
inside  two  weeks.  Archuleta  Hed,  but  he  was  after 
wards  invited  to  return  to  the  Territory,  and  upon  tak- 
ing the  oath  of  allegiance  was  admitted  to  the  friend- 
ship and  confidence  of  the  authorities  at  Santa  F4. 

In  1857  (,'olonel  Archuleta  was  United  States  In- 
dian agent  for  the  Southern  l-tes  and  the  Apaches, 
which  position  he  held  for  five  years.  In  18(51  he  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  a  regiment  of  auxiliaries,  with 
the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel,  and  was  stationed  for  a 
time  at  Fort  Union,  and  again,  during  the  administra- 
tion of  Abraham  Lincoln,  he  was  named  as  Indian 
agent  for  the  Utes,  Apaches  and  Jicarrillas.  In  the 
same  year  he  was  commissioned  a  brigadier  general 
by  (lovernor  Henry  Connelly;  inasmuch  as  this  com- 
mission iM'ars  the  signatures  of  four  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished New  Mexicans  of  that  period,  a  reproduc- 
tion of  the  same  is  given.  For  fourteen  years  he  was 
a  member  of  the  legislative  assembly  of  the  Territory 
of  New  Mexico.  lie  was  a  candidate  for  the  Thirty- 
seventh  Congress  of  the  United  States,  but  was  de- 
feated by  John  S.  Watts.  Tie  was  the  first  man  to 
transport  a  family  carriage  across  the  Great  Plains, 
lie  was  the  son  of  .Juan  Andres  .Xrchuletn,  a  i)rominent 
and  wealthy  citizen  of  Rio  Arriba,  and   in  1841  was 


Don  Diego  Archuleta,  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  1884. 


Q 


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-f? 


MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OP    NEW    MEXICO.  247 

married  to  Jesusita  Trujillo,  and  there  were  seven 
children  of  the  union.  He  died  at  Santa  ¥6,  while  a 
member  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  1884,  of  heart 
failure.  On  the  20th  of  March,  1884,  while  engaged 
in  his  duties  as  a  member  of  the  legislature,  on  the 
floor  of  the  house,  he  was  taken  suddenly  ill.  He  was 
taken  to  the  home  of  Don  Rafael  Lopez,  where  he  was 
stopping,  and  on  the  following  day  rallied  consider- 
ably, and  a  very  important  measure  being  under  con: 
sideration  in  the  House,  he  was  assisted  to  his  ac 
customed  seat  in  order  to  cast  his  vote.  He  remained 
only  long  enough  to  perform  this  duty  and  was  taken 
to  his  apartments,  where  the  utmost  care  and  attention 
were  shown  him;  every  known  medical  treatment  was 
brought  to  bear  on  his  case  but,  despite  all  efforts,  he 
continued  to  sink  and  grow  worse  until  death  came  to 
his  relief.  His  death  was  not  altogether  unexpected. 
The  House  of  Representatives  met  and  adjourned  after 
passing  appropriate  resolutions  and  designating 
proper  committees  to  look  after  the  details  of  the 
funeral  obsequies.  The  Council  also  met  and  passed 
similar  resolutions.  His  remains  were  removed  to  the 
hall  of  the  Society  of  St.  Francis;  thence  they  were 
taken  to  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  where 
mass  was  said,  when  they  were  again  removed  to  the 
St.  Francis  Hall,  being  finally  taken  to  the  Hall  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  where  they  lay  in  state  until 
the  day  of  the  funeral.  On  the  day  of  the  funeral  na- 
tive and  American  citizens  alike  assembled  in  vast 
numbers,  performing  the  last  honor  to  the  dis- 
tinguished statesman.  The  procession  which  followed 
the  remains  to  their  last  resting  place  in  the  Catholic 
cemetery  was  one  of  the  largest  ever  seen  in  the  City 


248  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

of  Santa  F6.  The  22d  Infantry  Band  of  the  United 
States  Army  led  the  procession,  which  included  the 
General  commanding  the  District,  Brigadier  General 
I).  S.  Stanley,  his  staff  and  other  officers  of  the  U.  S. 
Army,  stationed  at  Santa  F6,  the  members  of  the  legis- 
lative assembly,  the  county  commissioners,  secret  and 
patriotic  societies,  it  being  estimated  that  over  two 
thousand  five  hundred  people  marched  in  the  proces- 
sion. 

Diego  Archuleta  was  an  intense  patriot  and  his 
following  was  large  and  enthusiastic.  He  bitterly  op- 
posed the  American  occupation,  but  gave  in  when  he 
saw  that  further  effort  was  vain  and  useless.  His  life 
was  a  busy  one  throughout.  He  held  many  offices  of 
honor  and  trust.  He  filled  them  all  with  ability.  His 
last  speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  in 
favor  of  an  amendment  to  a  pending  educational  bill, 
which  declared  for  non-sectarian  administration  of  the 
schools  of  New  Mexico.  In  making  this  speech,  he 
said  that  he  was  then  an  old  man,  that  he  expected 
very  soon  to  be  called  to  his  Maker,  and,  when  that 
time  came,  he  would  go  with  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  his  vote  had  been  cast  in  behalf  of  freedom,  in 
iH^half  of  free,  non-se<taiian  educaticm  of  the  youth  of 
his  country.  His  last  vote  cast  in  the  House  was  in 
favt)r  of  the  construction  of  the  Capitol  building  at 
Santa  lY. 


Senator  Thomas  H.  Benton. 


THOMAS  H.  BENTON. 
It  is  not  to  be  expected  in  these  sketches  that  any- 
thing more  than  the  briefest  of  outlines  of  the  pro- 
fessional life  and  public  services  of  so  celebrated  a 
man  as  Thomas  Hart  Benton  should  appear.  He  be- 
longed to  the  classic  age  of  American  eloquence  and  it 
is  hoped  that  at  no  distant  day  some  one  will  appear 
as  his  biographer  who  will  be  competent  to  do  justice 
to  the  memory  of  one  of  the  greatest  of  American 
statesmen.  As  a  logical  reasoner,  he  was  inferior  to 
l>aniel  Webster;  as  an  orator,  Henry  Clay  was  his 
superior,  but  in  depth  of  mind,  and  in  the  power  to 
conceive  and  execute  anj"  great  public  measure,  he  was 
the  equal  of  either,  and  in  some  respects  the  superior 
of  both.  Benton  loved  his  country  and  in  all  his  life 
as  a  public  servant,  in  considering  any  measure  pend- 
ing in  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  he  strove  to 
ascertain  its  etfect  upon  the  entire  nation.  He  was  a 
great  lover  of  the  West.  He  was  a  great  friend  of  New 
Mexico.  He  was  a  senator  of  the  Nation  and  not  of 
a  single  state.  During  the  days  immediately  following 
the  Treaty  of  (Juadalu|)e  Hidalgo,  Senator  Benton  did 
all  in  his  power  in  the  senate  of  the  I'nited  States  to 
secure  to  the  people  of  New  Mexico  the  rights  to  which 
they  were  entitled.  At  an  early  pericnl  in  his  career 
in  the  senate,  Benton  took  the  j)osition  that  the  govern- 
ment should  never  depend  upon  the  sale  of  its  public 
lands  as  a  source  of  revenue,  but  that  the  true  policy 
was  to  aid  and  (»n(ourage  immigraticm  by  a  reduction 
of  the  price  of  the  public  domain ;  and,  as  most  of  the 
immigrants  were  poor,  to  give  them  ample  time  in 
which  to  pay  for  their  homes.     To  this  end,  he  intro- 


MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OP    NEW    MEXICO.  251 

duced  a  bill  reducing  the  price  to  one  dollar  and 
twenty-five  cents  an  acre,  and,  upon  certain  conditions, 
to  give  them  i)re-einption  and  settlement  rights,  so  that 
they  could  pay  for  their  homes  out  of  the  proceeds  of 
their  labor.  All  of  the  New  England  states,  led  by 
Webster,  opposed  this  policy,  as  tending  to  deprive 
them  of  a  part  of  their  productive  population,  but 
Benton  was  successful  and  the  West  has  always  been 
grateful' to  him  on  that  account. 

He  was  very  fond  of  western  adventurers  and  for 
many  years  made  it  a  point  to  entertain  all  of  them 
who  came  to  his  city.  At  one  time  he  had  a  personal 
interview  with  Kit  Carson,  who,  surrounded  with  maps 
and  charts,  explained  to  Benton  the  character  and  lo- 
cation of  what  he  considered  the  most  desirable  route 
between  Independence  and  Santa  F^.  It  is  not  strange, 
therefore,  that  a  man  of  his  wonderful  memory  was 
even  more  familiar  with  the  western  wilds  and  savage 
tribes  than  many  who  had  lived  all  their  lives  among 
them. 

Senator  Benton  was  born  near  Hillsborough, 
North  Carolina,  March  14,  1782.  In  his  youth  he 
received  a  very  liberal  education.  He  lived  with  his 
mother  for  a  number  of  years,  in  the  State  of 
Tennessee,  and  came  to  Missouri  in  1813.  In  1820,  at 
the  time  of  the  admission  of  the  State  of  Missouri  into 
the  I'nion,  Benton  was  chosen  United  States  Senator. 
He  continued  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  by 
successive  elections,  for  thirty  years.  He  was  a  man 
of  very  strong  prejudices.  He  devoted  several  years 
of  the  latter  part  of  his  life  to  the  preparation  of  two 
most  valuable  works,  one  'A  Thirty  Years'  View;'  the 
other   ^\n   Abridgment   of   the   Debates   in    Congress, 


252  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

From  the  Foundation  of  the  Government,  to  185G.' 
These  Avorks  are  of  great  value.  Senator  lienton  died 
in  the  City  of  Washington,  April  10,  1S5S.  ITis  re- 
mains were  brought  to  St.  Louis  and  were  interred  in 
Bellefontaine  cemetery.  As  the  casket  containing  all 
that  was  mortal  of  Missouri's  greatest  statesman  was 
borne  to  its  last  resting  place,  more  than  fifty  thousand 
people  gazed  upon  the  solemn  scene.  All  business 
houses  were  closed;  public  buildings  were  draped  in 
mourning  and  the  flags  of  the  city  and  harbor  were 
at  half  mast.  The  State  of  Missouri  has  been  reju'e- 
sented  in  the  Senate  of  the  Fnited  States  by  several 
great  men  since  Benton's  time,  but  no  one  approached 
his  mental  stature  unless  ])ossibly  Carl  Schurz. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  Missouri  Mounted  Volun- 
teers under  Doniphan  from  Mexico,  a  great  celebration 
was  had  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  on  the  2d  day  of  July, 
1847.  Among  others  delivering  addresses  on  that 
occasion  was  Senator  Benton,  whose  address  was  as 
follows: 

**Col.  Doniphan,  OflBcers  and  Men: — I  have  been 
appointed  to  an  honorable  and  pleasant  duty — that 
of  making  you  the  congratulations  of  your  fellow- 
citizens  of  St.  Louis,  on  your  hai)py  return  from  your 
long  and  almost  fabulous  expedition.  You  have  indeed 
marched  far,  and  done  much,  and  suffered  much,  and 
well  entitled  yourselves  to  the  aj)plause  of  your  fellow- 
citizens,  as  w(  11  as  the  rewards  and  thanks  of  your 
government.  A  year  ago  you  left  home.  Going  out 
fi'om  the  western  border  of  your  state,  you  re-enter  it 
on  the  east,  having  made  a  circuit  e(|ual  to  the  fourth 
of  the  circumference  of  tlie  globe,  i)roviding  for  your- 
selves as  you  went,  and  returning  with  trophies  taken 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO,  253 

from  fields,  the  names  of  which  were  unknown  to  your- 
selves and  your  country  until  revealed  by  your  enter- 
prise, illustrated  by  your  valor,  and  immortalized  by 
your  deeds.  History  has  but  few  such  expeditions  to 
record;  and  when  they  occur  it  is  as  honorable  and 
useful  as  it  is  just  and  wise  to  celebrate  and  com- 
memorate the  events  which  entitle  them  to  renown. 

Your  march  and  exploits  have  been  among  the 
most  wonderful  of  the  age.  At  the  call  of  your  country 
you  marched  a  thousand  miles  to  the  conquest  of  New 
Mexico,  as  part  of  the  force  under  General  Kearny, 
and  achieved  that  conquest  without  the  loss  of  a  man 
or  the  firing  of  a  gun.  That  work  finished,  and  New 
Mexico,  itself  so  distant  and  so  lately  the  ultima 
thule,  the  outside  boundary  of  speculation  and  enter- 
prise, so  lately  a  distant  point  to  be  attained,  becomes 
itself  a  point  of  departure,  a  beginning-point  for  new 
and  far  more  extended  expeditions.  You  look  across 
the  long  and  lofty  chain — the  Cordilleras  of  North 
America — ^which  divide  the  Atlantic  from  the  Pacific 
waters,  and  you  see  beyond  that  ridge  a  savage  tribe 
which  had  been  long  in  the  habit  of  depredating  upon 
the  province  which  had  just  become  an  American  con- 
quest. You,  a  part  only  of  the  subsequent  Chihuahua 
column,  under  Jackson  and  Gilpin,  march  upon  them, 
bring  them  to  terms,  and  they  sign  a  treaty  Avith  Col. 
Doniphan,  in  which  they  bind  themselves  to  cease  their 
depredations  on  the  ^Mexicans,  and  t'o  become  the 
friends  of  the  United  States.  A  novel  treaty  that, 
signed  on  the  western  confines  of  New  Mexico,  between 
parties  who  had  hardly  ever  heard  each  others'  names 
before,  and  to  give  peace  and  protection  to  Mexicans 
who  were  hostile  to  both.    This  was  the  meeting  and 


254  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

this  the  parting  of  the  Missouri  Volunteers  with  the 
numerous  and  savage  tribe  of  the  Navajo  Indians, 
living  on  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  so 
long  the  terror  and  scourge  of  Sonora,  Sinaloa  and 
New  Mexico. 

This  object  accomplished,  and  impatient  of  in- 
activit}',  and  without  orders  (Gen,  Kearny  having  de- 
parted for  California),  you  cast  about  to  carve  out 
some  new  work  for  yourselves.  Chihuahua,  a  rich  and 
populous  city  of  nearly  thirty  thousand  souls,  the  seat 
of  government  of  the  State  of  that  name,  and  formerly 
the  residence  of  the  Captains-General  of  the  internal 
provinces  under  the  vice-regal  government  of  New 
Spain,  was  the  captivating  object  which  fixed  your 
attention.  It  was  a  far  distant  city,  about  as  far 
distant  from  St.  Louis  as  Moscow  is  from  Paris,  and 
towns  and  enemies,  and  a  large  river,  and  defiles  and 
mountains,  and  the  desert,  whose  ominous  name  por- 
tended death  to  traveller — Jornada  de  los  muertos  (the 
journey  of  the  dead) — all  lay  between  you.  It  was  a 
perilous  enterprise,  and  a  discouraging  one  for  a 
thousand  men,  badly  equipped,  to  contemplate.  No 
matter.  Danger  and  hardship  lent  it  a  charm,  and  the 
adventurous  march  wa.s  resolved  on,  and  the  execution 
commence<l.  First,  the  ominous  desert  was  passed,  its 
character  vindicating  its  title  to  its  mournful  appella- 
tion— an  arid  plain  of  ninety  miles,  strewed  with  bones 
of  animals,  perished  of  hunger  and  thirst;  little 
hillocks  of  stone  and  the  solitary  cross,  erected  by 
pious  hands,  marking  the  s|)ot  where  some  (^'hristian 
had  fallen,  victim  of  the  savage,  of  the  robber,  or  of 
flic  desert  itself — no  wafer,  no  animal  life,  no  sign  of 
habitation.     There  the  Texas  prisoners,  driven  by  the 


OF    THE    TKRRITOKY    OP    NEW    MEXICO.  255 

cruel  Salazar,  had  met  their  direst  sufferings,  unre- 
lieved, as  in  other  parts  of  their  march  in  the  settled 
portions  of  the  country,  by  the  compassionate  minis- 
trations (for  where  is  it  that  woman  is  not  compas- 
sionate?) of  the  pitying  women.  The  desert  was 
passed  and  the  place  for  crossing  the  river  approached. 
A  little  arm  of  the  river,  Brazito,  made  out  from  its 
side.  There  the  enemy  in  superior  numbers,  and  con- 
fident in  cavalry  and  artillery,  undertook  to  bar  the 
way.  Vain  pretension !  Their  discovery,  attack  and 
rout  were  about  simultaneous  operations.  A  few 
minutes  did  the  work.  And  in  this  way  our  Missouri 
Volunteers  of  the  Chihuahua  column  spent  their 
Christmas  day  of  the  year  1846. 

The  victory  of  the  Brazito  opened  the  way  to  the 
crossing  of  the  river  Del  Norte,  and  to  admission  into 
the  beautiful  little  town  of  the  Paso  del  Norte,  where 
a  neat  cultivation,  a  comfortable  people,  and  vineyards 
and  a  hospitable  reception  offered  the  rest  and  refresh- 
ment, which  toils  and  dangers  and  victory  had  won. 

You  rested  there  until  artillery  was  brought  down 
from  Santa  Fe,  but  the  pretty  town  of  the  Paso  del 
N'orte,  with  all  its  enjoyments,  and  they  were  many, 
and  the  greater  for  the  place  in  which  the}'  were  found, 
was  not  a  Capua  to  the  men  from  Missouri.  You 
moved  forward  in  February,  and  the  battle  of  Sacra- 
mento, one  of  the  military  marvels  of  the  age,  cleared 
the  road  to  Chihuahua,  which  was  entered  without 
further  resistance.  It  had  been  entered  once  before 
by  a  detachment  of  American  troops,  but  under  circum- 
stances how  different!  In  the  year  1807,  Lieut.  Pike 
and  his  thirty  brave  men,  taken  prisoners  on  the  head 
of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  had  been  marched  captives  into 


256  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

the  city  of  Chihuahua;  in  the  jear  1847,  Doniphan  and 
his  men  entered  it  as  conquerors.  The  paltr}'  triumph 
of  a  Captain-General  over  a  Lieutenant  was  effaced  in 
the  triumphal  entrance  of  a  thousand  Missourians  into 
the  grand  and  ancient  capital  of  all  the  internal  prov- 
inces, and  old  men,  still  alive,  could  remark  the 
grandeur  of  the  American  spirit  under  both  events — 
the  proud  and  lofty  bearing  of  the  captive  thirty,  the 
mildness  and  moderation  of  the  conquering  thousand. 

Chihuahua  was  taken,  and  responsible  duties, 
more  delicate  than  those  of  arms,  were  to  be  performed. 
Many  American  citizens  were  there  engaged  in  trade; 
much  American  property  was  there.  All  this  was  to 
be  protected,  both  lives  and  property',  and  by  peaceful 
arrangement,  for  the  command  was  too  small  to  admit 
of  division  and  of  leaving  a  garrison.  Conciliation 
and  negotiation  were  resorted  to,  and  successfully. 
Every  American  interest  was  provided  for  and  placed 
under  the  safeguard,  first,  of  good-will,  and  next,  of 
guarantees  not  to  be  violated  with  impunity. 

Chihuahua  gained,  it  became,  like  Santa  F6,  not 
the  terminating  point  of  a  long  expedition,  but  the  be- 
ginning point  of  a  new  one.  General  Taylor  was  some- 
where, no  one  knew  exactly  where,  but  some  seven  or 
eight  hundred  miles  towards  the  other  side  of  Mexico. 
You  had  heard  that  he  had  been  defeated,  that  Buena 
Vista  had  not  been  a  good  prospect  to  him.  Like  good 
Americans,  you  did  not  believe  a  word  of  it,  but,  like 
good  soldiers,  you  thought  it  best  to  go  and  see.  A 
volunteer  party  of  fourteen,  headed  by  Collins,  of 
Boonville.  undertake  to  penetrate  to  Saltillo,  and  bring 
you  information  of  his  condition.  They  set  out. 
Amidst   innumerable   dangers,   they   accomplish   their 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  257 

purpose  and  return.  You  march,  A  vanguard  of  one 
hundred  men,  led  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mitchell,  led 
the  way.  Then  came  the  main  body  (if  the  name  is 
not  a  burlesque  on  such  a  handful)  commanded  by 
Col.  Doniphan  himself. 

The  whole  table-land  of  Mexico,  in  all  its  breadth 
from  west  to  east,  was  to  be  traversed.  A  numerous 
and  hostile  population  in  towns,  treacherous  Coraan- 
ches  in  the  mountains,  were  to  be  passed.  Everything 
was  to  be  self-provided — provisions,  transportation, 
fresh  horses  for  remounts,  and  even  the  means  of 
victory — and  all  without  a  military  chest,  or  even  an 
empty  box,  in  which  government  gold  had  ever  reposed. 
All  was  accomplished.  Mexican  towns  were  passed  in 
order  and  quiet,  plundering  Comanches  were  punished, 
means  were  obtained  from  traders  to  liquidate  indis- 
pensable contributions,  and  the  wants  that  could  not 
be  sui)j)lied  were  endured  like  soldiers  of  veteran 
service. 

I  say  the  Comanches  were  punished.  And  here 
presents  itself  an  episode  of  novel,  extraordinary,  and 
romantic  kind — Americans  chasing  savages  for  plund- 
ering people  whom  they  themselves  came  to  conquer, 
and  forcing  the  restitution  of  captives  and  plundered 
property.  A  strange  story  this  to  tell  in  Europe — 
where  backwoods  character — Western  character — is 
not  yet  completely  known.  But  to  the  facts.  In  the 
mesquite  forest  of  the  Bolson  de  Mapima,  and  in  the 
sierras  around  the  beautiful  town  and  fertile  district 
of  Parras,  and  in  all  the  open  country  for  hundreds  of 
miles  round  about,  the  savage  Comanches  have  held 
dominion  ever  since  the  usurper,  Santa  Ana,  dis- 
armed the  people,  and  sally  forth  from  their  fastnesses 


258  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

to  slaugliter  men,  plunder  cattle,  and  carrv  off  women 
and  children.  An  exploit  of  this  kind  had  just  been 
performed  on  the  line  of  the  Missouriaus'  march,  not 
far  from  I'arras,  and  an  advanced  party  chanced  to 
be  in  that  town  at  the  time  the  news  of  the  depredation 
arrived  there.  It  was  only  fifteen  strong.  Moved  by 
gratitude  for  the  kind  attentions  of  the  people,  especi- 
ally the  women,  to  the  sick  of  General  Wool's  com- 
mand, necessarily  left  in  I'arras,  and  unwilling  to  be 
outdone  by  enemies  in  generosity,  the  heroic  fifteen, 
upon  the  spot,  volunteered  to  go  back,  hunt  out  the 
depredators  and  jiunish  them,  without  regard  to  num- 
bers. A  grateful  Mexican  became  their  guide.  On 
their  way  tliey  fell  in  with  fifteen  more  of  their  com- 
rades, and  in  a  short  time  seventeen  (Jomanches  killed 
out  of  sixty-five,  eighteen  captives  restored  to  their 
families  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  head  of  cattle  re- 
covered for  their  owners,  was  the  fruit  of  this  sudden 
and  romantic  episode. 

^^uch  noble  conduct  was  not  without  its  effect  on 
the  minds  of  the  astonished  .Mexicans.  An  official 
document  from  the  i»iefcct  of  the  place  to  Captain 
Keid,  leader  of  this  detaclniK'nt,  attests  the  verity  of 
the  fact  and  the  gratitude  of  the  Mexicans,  and  consti- 
tutes a  trophy  of  a  new  kind  in  th(»  annals  of  war. 
Here  it  is  in  the  original  Sj)aiiisli  and  I  will  read  it  off 
in  English.  It  is  officially  dated  from  the  prefecture 
of  the  DejiartnuMit  of  I'arras,  signed  by  the  prefect, 
Jose  Ignacio  .\irabe,  and  addressed  to  ra})t.  Reid.  the 
ISth  of  May,  and  says:  'At  the  first  notice  that  the 
barbarians,  after  killing  many  and  taking  captives, 
were  returning  to  their  haunts,  you  generously  and 
bravely  offered,  with  fifteen  of  your  subordinates,  to 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  259 

fight  them  on  their  crossing  by  tlie  Pozo,  executing 
this  enter] )i-ise  with  celerity,  address  and  bravery 
worthy  of  all  eulogy,  and  worthy  of  the  brilliant  issue 
which  all  celebrate.  You  recovered  many  animals  and 
much  i)lundercd  })roi)erty,  and  eighteen  captives  were 
restored  1o  liberty  and  to  social  enjoyments,  their  souls 
overflowing  with  a  lively  sentiment  of  jo}^  and  grati- 
tude, which  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  equally 
bi-eathe,  in  favor  of  their  generous  deliverers  and  their 
valiant  chief.  The  half  of  the  Indians  killed  in  the 
combat  and  those  which  wei*e  wounded  do  not  calm  the 
])ain  which  all  feel  for  the  wound  which  your  Excel- 
lency received  defending  Christians  and  civilized  be- 
ings against  the  rage  and  brutality  of  savages.  All 
desire  the  speedy  re-establishment  of  your  health,  and 
although  they  knoAv  that  your  own  noble  soul  will  be 
found  the  best  reward  of  your  conduct,  they  desire 
also  to  address  you  an  ex])ression  of  their  gratitude 
and  high  esteem.  I  am  honored  in  being  the  organ  of 
the  public  sentiment,  and  pray  you  accept  it,  with  the 
assurance  of  my  most  distinguished  esteem.  God  and 
Liberty.' 

This  is  a  trophy  of  a  new  kind  in  war,  won  by 
thirty  ^lissourians,  and  worthy  to  be  held  up  to  the 
admiration  of  Christendom. 

The  long  march  fi'om  Chihuahua  to  Monterey  was 
made  more  in  the  character  of  protection  and  deliver- 
ance than  of  conquest  and  invasion.  Armed  enemies 
were  not  met  and  peaceful  ])eople  were  not  disturbed. 
You  arrived  in  the  month  of  ^lay  in  (Jeneral  Taylor's 
camp,  and  about  in  a  condition  to  vindicate,  each  of 
you  for  himself,  your  lawful  title  to  the  double  sobri- 
quet of  the  General,  with  the  addition  to  it,  which  the 


260  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

Colonel  of  the  expedition  has  supplied,  'ragged  as  well 
as  rough  and  ready.'  No  doubt  you  all  showed  title  at 
that  time  to  that  third  sobriquet;  but  to  see  you  now, 
so  gayly  attired,  so  princely  equipped,  one  might  sup- 
pose that  you  had  never  for  an  instant  been  a  stranger 
to  the  virtues  of  soap  and  water,  or  the  magic  ministra- 
tions of  the  blanchisseuse  and  the  elegant  transforma- 
tions of  the  fashionable  tailor.  Thanks,  perhaps,  to  the 
difference  between  pay  in  the  lump,  at  the  end  of 
service,  and  the  driblets  along  in  the  course  of  it. 

You  arrived  in  General  Taylor's  camp,  ragged  and 
rough,  as  we  can  well  conceive,  and  ready,  as  I  can 
quickly  show.  You  reported  for  duty !  You  asked  for 
service — such  as  a  march  upon  San  Luis  de  Potosi, 
Zacatecas  or  the  "Halls  of  the  Montezumas,"  or  any- 
thing in  that  way  that  the  General  should  have  a  mind 
to.  If  he  was  going  upon  any  excursion  of  that  kind, 
all  right.  No  matter  about  fatigues  that  were  past,  or 
expirations  of  service  that  might  accrue;  you  came  to 
go,  and  only  asked  the  privilege.  That  is  what  I  call 
ready,  rnhapjtily,  the  conqueror  of  Palo  Alto,  Resaca 
de  la  Palma,  Monterey  and  Buena  Vista  was  not  ex- 
actly in  the  condition  that  the  Lieutenant-General 
might  have  intended  him  to  be.  He  was  not  at  the  head 
of  twenty  thousand  men ;  he  was  not  at  the  head  of  any 
thousand  that  would  enable  him  to  march,  and  had  to 
decline  the  ]>roffered  service.  Thus  the  long-marched 
and  well  fought  volunteers — the  rough,  the  ready  and 
the  ragged — had  to  turn  their  faces  towards  home,  still 
more  than  two  thousand  miles  distant.  Hut  this  being 
mostly  by  water,  you  hardly  count  it  in  tlie  recital  of 
your  march.  But  this  is  an  unjust  omission,  and 
against  the  precedents  as  well  as  unjust.     ''The  Ten 


OP    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  2(51 

Thousand"  counted  tlie  voyage  on  the  Black  Sea,  as 
well  as  the  march  from  Babylon,  and  twenty  centuries 
admit  the  validity  of  the  count.  The  present  age  and 
posterity  will  include  in  the  "going  out  and  coming  in" 
of  the  Missouri  volunteers  the  water  voyage  as  well  as 
the  land  march,  and  then  the  expedition  of  the  One 
Thousand  will  exceed  that  of  the  Ten  by  some  two 
thousand  miles. 

The  last  nine  hundred  miles  of  your  land  march, 
from  Chihuahua  to  Matamoras,  you  made  in  forty-five 
days,  bringing  seventeen  pieces  of  artillery,  eleven  of 
which  were  taken  from  the  Sacramento  and  Brazito. 
Your  horses,  traveling  the  whole  distance  without 
United  States  provender,  were  astonished  to  find  them- 
selves regaled,  on  their  arrival  on  the  Eio  Grande 
frontier,  with  hay,  corn  and  oats  from  the  States.  You 
marched  farther  than  the  farthest,  fought  as  well  as 
the  best,  left  order  and  quiet  in  your  train,  and  cost 
less  money  than  any. 

You  arrive  here  to-day,  absent  one  year,  marching 
and  fighting  all  the  time,  bringing  trophies  of  cannon 
and  standards  from  fields  Avhose  names  were  unknown 
to  you  before  .you  set  out,  and  only  grieving  that  you 
could  not  have  gone  farther.  Ten  jjieces  of  cannon, 
rolled  out  of  Chihuahua  to  arrest  your  march,  now  roll 
through  the  streets  of  St.  Louis  to  grace  your  triumphal 
return.  Many  standards,  all  pierced  with  bullets  while 
waving  over  the  heads  of  the  enemy  at  the  Sacramento, 
now  wave  at  the  head  of  your  column.  The  black  flag, 
brought  to  the  Brazito  to  indicate  the  refusal  of  that 
(luarter  which  its  bearers  so  soon  needed  and  received, 
now  takes  its  place  among  your  trophies,  and  hangs 
drooping  in  their  nobler  presence.    To  crown  the  whole. 


2()2  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

to  make  public  and  private  happiness  go  together,  to 
spare  the  cypress  wliere  the  hiiirel  hangs  in  clusters, 
this  long  and  perilous  inarch,  with  all  its  accidents  of 
held  and  caiiij),  presents  an  incredibly  small  list  of 
comrades  lost.  Almost  all  return,  and  the  joy  of  fam- 
ilies resounds  intermingled  with  the  applause  of  the 
state. 

I  have  said  that  you  made  your  long  expedition 
without  government  orders;  and  so  indeed  you  did. 
You  received  no  orders  from  your  government,  but. 
without  knowing  it.  you  were  fulfilling  its  orders — or- 
ders which  never  reached  you.  Happy  the  soldier  who 
executes  the  command  of  his  government;  happier  still 
he  who  anticipates  command  and  does  what  is  wanted 
before  he  is  bid.  This  is  your  case.  You  did  the  right 
thing  at  the  right  time,  and  what  the  government  in- 
tended you  to  do,  and  without  knowing  its  intentions. 
The  facts  are  these:  Early  in  the  month  of  November 
last  the  President  asked  my  opinion  on  the  manner  of 
conducting  the  war.  I  submitted  a  i)lan  to  him  which, 
in  addition  to  other  things,  rerpiired  all  the  disjtosable 
troops  in  New  Mexico,  and  all  the  Americans  in  that 
(piarter  who  could  be  engaged  for  a  dashing  expedition, 
to  move  down  through  Chihuahua  and  the  State  of 
iMirango.  and,  if  necessai-y.  to  Zacatecas,  and  get  into 
communication  with  rieneral  Taylor's  right  as  early 
as  j»ossibIe  in  the  month  of  March.  In  fact,  the  dis- 
posable Miss(»nrians  in  New  .Mexico  were  to  be  one  of 
fhi-ee  columns  destined  foj'  a  combined  movement  on 
the  City  of  Mexico,  all  to  be  on  the  table  land  and 
I'cady  for  the  movement  in  the  month  of  >rarch.  The 
President  approved  the  jdan,  and  the  Missonrians. 
being   most    distant,    orders   were   disfjatched    to   New 


OF    THE    TIORRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  2(53 

Mexico  to  put  them  in  motion.  ^Ir.  Solomon  Sublette 
carried  the  order,  and  delivered  it  to  the  commanding 
officer  at  Santa  Fe,  Colonel  Price,  on  the  23d  day  of 
February,  just  five  days  before  you  fought  the  mar- 
velous battle  of  Sacramento. 

I  well  remember  what  passed  between  the  Presi 
dent  and  nnself  at  the  time  he  resolved  to  give  this 
order.  It  awakened  his  solicitude  for  your  safety.  It 
was  to  send  a  small  body  of  men  a  great  distance  into 
the  heart  of  a  hostile  countr}',  and  upon  the  contin 
gency  of  uniting  in  a  combined  movement,  the  means 
for  which  had  not  yet  been  obtained  from  Congress. 
The  President  made  it  a  question,  and  very  properly, 
whether  it  was  safe  or  prudent  to  start  the  small  Mis- 
souri column  before  the  movement  of  the  left  and  center 
was  assured.  I  answered  that  my  own  rule  in  public 
affairs  was  to  do  Avhat  I  thought  was  right,  and  leave 
it  with  others  to  do  what  they  thought  was  right,  and 
that  I  believed  it  the  proper  course  for  him  to  follow 
on  the  present  occasion.  On  this  view  he  acted.  He 
gave  the  order  to  go,  without  waiting  to  see  whether 
Congress  would  furnish  the  means  of  executing  the 
combined  plan,  and,  for  his  consolation,  I  undertook 
to  guarantee  your  safety.  Let  the  worst  come  to  the 
worst,  I  promised  him  that  you  would  take  care  of 
yourselves.  Though  the  other  parts  of  the  plan  should 
fail,  though  you  should  become  far  involved  in  the  ad- 
vance, and  deeply  compromised  in  the  enemy's  country 
and  without  support,  still  I  relied  on  your  courage, 
skill  and  enterprise  to  extricate  yourselves  from  every 
danger,  to  make  daylight  through  all  the  Mexicans  that 
should  stand  before  you,  cut  your  way  out,  and  make 
good  retreat  to  Taylor's  camp.    This  is  what  I  promised 


264  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

the  President  in  November  last,  and  what  you  have  so 
nuinfully  fulfilled.  And  here  is  a  little  manuscript 
volume  (the  dujilicate  of  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Presi- 
dent), from  which  I  will  read  yon  a  page,  to  show  you 
that  you  are  the  hapi)y  soldiers  who  have  done  the  will 
of  the  government  without  knowing  its  will : 

'The  right  wing. — To  be  composed  of  all  the  dis- 
posable troojis  in  New  ^Mexico;  to  advance  rapidly 
through  the  States  of  Chihuahua  and  Durango,  and 
towards  Zacatecas,  and  to  attain  a  position  about  on  a 
line  with  General  Taylor  in  the  month  of  March,  and 
be  ready  to  i)ush  on  to  the  capital.  This  column  to 
move  light,  to  have  no  rear,  to  keep  itself  mounted  from 
horse  in  the  country,  and  to  join  the  center  column  or 
cut  its  way  out  if  the  main  object  fails.' 

This  is  what  was  proposed  for  you  in  the  month  of 
November  last,  and  what  1  pledged  myself  to  the  Presi 
dent  that  you  would  perform,  and  nobly  have  you  re- 
deemed the  i)ledge. 

Hut  this  was  not  the  first  or  the  only  time  that  1 
pledged  myself  for  you.  As  far  back  as  June,  184G, 
when  a  sejjarate  expedition  to  Chihuahua  was  first 
projected,  I  told  the  I'resident  that  it  was  unnecessary; 
that  the  Missouri  troops  under  (Jen.  Kearny  would  take 
that  place,  in  addition  to  the  conciuest  of  New  Mexico, 
and  that  he  might  order  the  column  under  General 
Wool  to  deflect  to  the  left  and  join  General  Taylor  as 
soon  as  he  j)leased.  Again,  when  I  received  a  letter 
from  Lieutenant  Colonel  Mitchell,  dated  in  November 
last,  and  informing  me  that  he  was  leaving  Santa  F6 
with  one  hundred  men  to  o{)en  communication  with 
General  ^^■ool,  I  read  the  letter  to  the  President,  and 
told  him  that  they  would  do  it.    And,  again,  when  we 


OP    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO,  265 

heard  that  Colonel  I)onij)han,  with  a  thousand  men, 
after  curbing  the  Navajos,  was  turnin<>;  down  towards 
the  south  and  threatening  the  ancient  cai)ital  of  the 
Captains-General  of  the  internal  j)rovinces,  I  told  him 
they  would  take  it.  In  short,  my  confidence  in  Missouri 
enterprise,  courage  and  skill  was  boundless.  My 
j)romises  were  boundless.  Your  performance  has  been 
boundless.  And  now  let  boundless  honor  and  joy 
salute,  as  it  does,  your  return  to  the  soil  of  your  State 
and  to  the  bosoms  of  your  families."*'^ 


'St.  Louis  Republican,  July  3,  1847. 


Carlos  Beaubien. 


CARLOS  BEAUBIEN. 

Charles  Hipolyte  Trotier,  Sienr  de  Beaubien,  was 
the  son  of  Paul  Trotier,  Sieur  de  Beaubien  and  Louise 
Charlotte  Adelaide  Durocher,  and  was  born  in  Canada, 
at  Three  Eivers.  Several  members  of  his  ancestry 
became  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  Canada  and  this 
country.  The  first  representative  of  the  name  in 
Canada  was  Jules  Trotier,  who  was  born  in  France, 
at  St.  Malod'lye  au  Perche,  in  1590,  where  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Catherine  Loyseau.  His  son,  Antoine,  Sieur 
des  Ruisseaux,  married  Catherine  Lefebone,  of  which 
marriage  there  was  a  son,  Michael,  Sieur  de  Beaubien, 
the  first  of  the  family  to  be  called  Beaubien,  Seigneur 
de  la  Riviere  du  Loup.  The  latter  nmrried  Agnes  God- 
frey de  Linctot,  and,  after  her  death,  he  married 
Therese  Mouet  de  Moras.  Louis  Trotier,  Sieur  de  Beau- 
bien, son  of  the  second  marriage,  married  Marie  Louise 
Robida  Manseaux.  Of  this  marriage  Charles  Hipolyte 
Trotier,  Sieur  de  Beaubien,  was  born.  He  left  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  for  the  United  States  during  the 
War  of  1812,  and  came  to  New  Mexico  in  1823,  in  com- 
pany with  a  number  of  French  Canadians  who  were 
making  investigations  in  New  Mexico.  Beaubien  went 
directly  to  Taos,  at  which  place,  in  1827,  he  married 
Paula  Lobato,  daughter  of  one  of  the  most  prominent 
citizens  of  that  region  of  New  Mexico.  Of  this  marriage 
there  were  born  the  following  children :  Narciso,  who 
was  killed  during  the  uprising  of  1817.  commonly 
known  as  the  Taos  Revolution ;  Luz,  who  was  the  wife 
of  Lucien  B.  Maxwell ;  Leonar,  who  married  Y.  Tru- 
jillo;  Juanita,  Avho  married  L.  D.  J.  Clouthier;  Teo- 
dora,  who  married  Frederick  Muller;  Petrita,  Avho  mar 


268  THE    MILITAKY    OCCUPATION 

ried  Jesus  G.  Abreii,  and  Pablo,  who  married  Rebecca 
Abreu. 

In  the  year  1847  Mr.  Beaubien  traveled  from  Taos 
down  to  the  Cininiaroncita,  where  he  found  Lucien  B. 
Maxwell  located.  A  company  of  cavalry  of  the  United 
States  army  was  also  established  there,  the  post  having 
been  built  b^-  Lieutenant  Wilson,  of  the  army,  under 
orders  from  General  Sterling  Price,  at  that  time  com- 
manding the  military  forces  in  New  Mexico  and  gov- 
ernor of  the  Territory.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Kit 
Carson  constructed  a  home,  about  three  hundred  yards 
from  the  site  of  the  military  post,  the  ruins  of  which 
are  still  standing. 

l*rior  to  the  coming  of  the  American  army  under 
General  Kearny,  a  prominent  citizen  of  New  Mexico, 
who  was  a  collector  of  customs  for  his  government  on 
its  northern  frontier,  the  Arkansas,  Don  Guadalupe 
Miranda,  had  asked  for  a  grant  of  land  in  northern 
New  Mexico  from  his  government,  and  this  grant  was 
nmde  to  Beaubien  and  Miranda,  who  had  previously 
agreed  to  the  partnership.  After  the  grant  had  been 
made  Miranda  sold  his  interest  to  Beaubien,  who,  by 
the  purchase.  be(  ame  possessed  of  over  a  million  acres 
of  land,  the  value  of  which  at  the  present  day,  with  its 
cities,  towns  and  villages,  railroads,  coal  mines  and 
coking  plants.  ai)proximates  fifty  millions  of  dollars. 
The  grant  comprised  a  tract  of  land  larger  than  three 
states  the  size  of  Rhode  Island.  The  grant  was  made 
by  Governor  Manuel  Armijo,  with  whom  Miranda  was 
a  great  favorite,  who  was  also  well  disj)Osed  toward 
Beaubien. 

Beaubien  died  in  Taos  on  the  10th  day  of  Feb- 
ruarv.  l.sfU.    During  his  lifetime,  sociallv  and  in  a  busi- 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  269 

ness  way,  lie  was  a  great  favorite.  He  took  an  active 
part  in  all  public  matters.  He  was  api)ointed  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  Supreme,  or  Superior  Court,  by  Gen- 
eral Kearny,  and  presided  over  what  was  known  as  the 
third  district,  comprising  the  counties  of  Taos  and  Rio 
Arriba.  He  was  commonly  known  as  "Don  Carlos" ; 
was  a  great  friend  of  Governor  Bent,  and  had  great 
influence  among  the  people  of  New  Mexico,  which  con- 
tinued up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 


Colonel  Christopher  (Kit)  Carson. 


CHRISTOPHER  (KIT)  CARSON. 

Christopher  (Kit)  Carson,  as  he  was  known 
among  Americans,  was  born  in  the  state  of  Kentucky 
in  the  jear  1808.  He  came  to  New  Mexico  about  the 
year  1827,  on  a  hunting  and  trapping  expedition.  From 
that  time  until  the  coming  of  the  army  of  the  United 
States  under  General  Kearny  he  trapi)ed  and  hunted 
from  the  Arkansas  river  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  He  was 
well  known  to  all  the  Indian  tribes,  and  none  was  more 
familiar  with  their  character,  manners  and  customs. 
He  was  familiar  with  many  of  the  Indian  languages. 
No  other  white  man  was  trusted  by  Indians  and  Mexi- 
cans as  was  Carson.  He  led  the  way  for  Fremont,  and 
performed  this  service  without  military  aid. 

Some  time  before  Fremont's  first  expedition  was 
begun  Carson  traveled  as  far  north  as  the  state  of 
Wyoming.  On  this  tri])  he  finally  went  to  California, 
and  returned  to  Santa  F<S  by  way  of  Taos.  Prior  to 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  Carson  guided  a 
number  of  overland  parties  to  the  Coast,  and  during 
the  war  with  ^lexico  he  was  comii;issioned  to  carry  the 
mail  from  Ft.  Leavenworth  to  the  Coast. 

When  General  Kearny  left  Santa  Fe  for  California, 
and  had  traveled  as  far  south  and  west  as  the  Gila 
river,  he  met  Carson  and  several  companions  returning 
from  California.  He  induced  Carson  to  return  to  Cali- 
fornia with  him,  and  Carson  particijiated  in  all  the 
hardshij)s  of  the  journey. 

Colonel  Carson  joined  Kearny's  command  on  the 
18th  day  of  October,  1840,  and  guided  the  small  force 
to   California,   reaching  that  state  on   the   third   day 


272  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

of  December.  A  scouting  party  under  Carson's  com- 
mand captured  some  spies  that  had  been  sent  out  by 
the  Mexican  General  commanding  the  enemy's  forces, 
who  informed  Kearm-  that  the  Mexicans  intended  to 
attack  them  before  they  could  join  forces  with  the 
Aiiit^ricans  then  in  possession  of  San  Diego.  Carson 
advised  Kearny  to  evade  this  attack,  as  their  horses 
and  men  were  exhausted  from  their  long  march,  and 
take  another  route.  General  Kearny,  however,  chose 
to  attack  the  enemy  without  delay,  and  for  that  pur- 
pose ordered  an  advance  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
His  trooi)s  were  tired  and  hungry,  and  came  upon  the 
advance  guard  of  the  enemy  before  daylight.  This 
guard  slept,  fully  dressed,  with  their  saddles  as  pillows 
and  their  horses  picketed  near  by.  The  attacking  force 
consisted  of  fifteen  Americans,  under  the  command  of 
Cai)tain  Johnson,  with  Carson  as  second  officer.  The 
guard  drew  back  into  camp,  and  the  party  under  John- 
son and  Carson  was  reinforced  by  Captain  Moore,  with 
twentj-five  men.  Moore  ordered  an  attack  upon  the 
enemy's  center,  hoping  to  effect  a  division  and  create 
confusion  in  the  camp.  In  the  charge  Carson's  horse 
stumbled  and  fell,  carrying  the  rider  to  the  ground. 
There  he  lay  until  the  entire  command  passed  over 
him.  As  soon  as  they  had  passed  he  seized  a  gun  from 
the  hand  of  one  of  his  men  who  had  been  killed,  his 
own  having  been  broken  in  the  fall,  mounted  and  rode 
on.  Many  of  the  men  were  mounted  on  mules,  which 
j)roved  nninanageable,  and.  although  the  enemy  was 
forced  to  retreat  a  short  distance,  the  condition  of  the 
.\mericans  was  soon  discovered,  and,  turning  back, 
what  would  have  been  nearly  a  bloodless  victory  was 
changed  into  a  terrible  slaughter.  Thirty  of  the  Ameri- 


West  Pueblo  of  Taos,  N.  M. 


274  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

tan  force  were  either  killed  or  severely  wounded,  and, 
although  the  main  party  of  the  Americans  came  up, 
the  Mexicans  fought  with  great  courage.  General 
Kearny,  although  severely  wounded,  remained  at  the 
head  of  his  troops,  hoping  that  two  mountain  howitzers 
which  were  to  be  brought  up  would  help  in  forcing  the 
enemy  to  retreat.  But  the  gunners  were  shot  down 
and  the  ^fexicans  captured  the  horses  attached  to  one 
with  a  lasso.  Some  fortunate  accident  or  ignorance 
rendered  the  ^fexicans  unable  to  use  the  gun,  or  greater 
slaughter  of  the  American  force  would  have  ensued. 

The  Americans  retreated  to  a  rocky  shelter  near 
by,  having  only  three  officers  left,  and  waited  for  the 
enemy's  attack.  Both  sides  were  exhausted  by  the 
continued  fighting,  and  neither  was  cheered  by  the 
thoughts  of  a  decisive  victory.  The  night  was  s|)ent  in 
burying  the  dead  and  attending  the  wounded. 

The  following  morning  the  march  toward  San 
Diego  was  resumed,  Carson,  with  a  body  of  twenty-five 
men,  leading  the  way.  Towards  nightfall,  as  camp  was 
being  prejiared  near  a  stream  of  water,  the  attack  by 
the  Mexicans  was  resumed ;  the  Americans  retired  to 
a  hill  a  short  distance  off.  A  fierce  cannonade  from  a 
neighboring  hill  was  begun  by  the  ilexicans,  but  the 
battery  was  silenced  by  a  party  of  Americans,  who 
stormed  and  occujjied  the  hill.  They  were  without 
food,  and  there  was  only  water  sufficient  for  the  men; 
the  condition  was  desjierate,  and  a  council  was  held  to 
determine  what  measures  had  l)est  be  pursued,  Carson 
took  part  in  this  council,  and  volunteered  to  try  and 
j>ass  the  enemy's  lines  and  reach  San  Diego  to  obtain 
assistance  from  Commodore  Stockton.  Lieutenant 
lieale.  of  the  T'nited  States  Navv,  volunteered  to  ac- 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  275 

company  him.  The  proposition  was  accepted  by  Gen- 
eral Kearny,  although  none  believed  they  would  ever 
reach  San  Diego. "^ 

Carson  and  Beale  left  the  camp  as  soon  as  it  was 
dark.  They  removed  their  shoes,  in  order  to  insure 
silence  while  passing  the  trii)le  line  of  sentries  which 
the  ^lexicans  had  stationed  around  the  foot  of  the  hill. 
Several  times,  as  they  crept  cautiously  along,  these  sen- 
tinels could  have  touched  them  with  their  rifles.  Their 
advance  was  very  slow,  but  finally  they  cleared  the 
Mexican  lines.  For  a  distance  of  more  than  two  miles 
they  had  crawled  upon  the  ground,  sometimes  each 
hearing  the  other's  heart  beat,  so  deathly  was  the  still- 
ness. Through  the  thorny  bushes  and  cactus  they  trod 
with  shoeless  feet.  All  that  night  and  all  of  the  next 
day  and  into  the  night  they  continued  their  journey. 
At  last  the  challenge  of  the  sentinel  at  San  Diego  was 
heard.  They  were  taken  into  the  presence  of  Commo- 
dore Stockton,  their  story  Avas  told,  and  at  once  a  force 
of  two  hundred  men  was  sent  by  forced  marches  to 
relieve  Kearny  and  his  men. 

Carson  was  detained  in  San  Diego,  as  without 
proper  care  there  was  danger  of  his  losing  both  of  his 
feet,  so  severely  had  they  been  lacerated.  Lieutenant 
Beale  was  partially  deranged  by  the  hardships  of  the 
journey,  and  did  not  fully  recover  his  health  for  more 
than  two  years. 

Carson  and  Beale  left  California  together,  and 
crossed  the  country  from  San  Diego  to  Santa  F^,  bear- 
ing despatches  for  Washington.  When  they  arrived  at 
St.  Louis  he  was  entertained  by  Hon.  Thomas  H.  Ben- 
ton.    Reaching  Washington,   Mrs.   Fremont   met   him 


"'•"Lieutenant  Emory's  Account. 


Home  of  Kit  Carson,  Taoi,  N.  M. 


MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  277 

at  the  station,  declaring  tliat  her  husband's  description 
of  him  made  an  introduction  unnecessary,  and  con- 
ducted him  to  lier  own  and  her  father's  house.  Carson 
was  lionized  while  in  Washington. 

In  the  sjiring  of  1848  he  was  again  sent  to  Wash- 
ington, bearing  despatches,  and  was  the  guest  of  Sena- 
tor Benton.  He  returned  to  New  Mexico  during  the 
summer. 

During  the  following  winter,  1849-50,  the  Indians 
were  more  than  usually  troublesome.  On  one  occasion 
a  party  of  them  had  stolen  all  of  the  horses  belonging 
to  some  cavalrymen  who  were  camped  near  Carson's 
home.  An  expedition  was  immediately  organized,  con- 
sisting of  three  settlers  and  the  soldiers  who  had  been 
robbed,  under  the  command  of  Carson.  Carson  soon 
overtook  the  thieves,  twenty  well  armed  and  mounted 
warriors.  In  the  tight  which  followed  five  Indians 
were  slain,  and,  recognizing  Carson  as  the  leader,  whose 
prowess  they  well  knew,  the  balance  fled,  leaving  all 
of  the  stolen  horses  except  four  in  Carson's  possession. 

In  the  summer  of  1850,  at  Santa  Fe,  Carson  learned 
that  a  number  of  desperadoes  had  volunteered  to  ac- 
company two  wealth}-  men  as  far  as  Independence,  in- 
tending to  rob  them  on  the  way.  He  collected  a  party, 
and  in  one  hour  from  the  time  of  receiving  the  infor- 
mation was  following  them.  He  was  joined  two  days 
later  by  an  officer  of  the  army  with  a  detachment  of 
twenty  men,  and  after  several  days'  hard  riding  over- 
took the  caravan  and  arrested  the  leader  of  the  des- 
peradoes. The  owners  of  the  caravan,  Messrs.  Brevoort 
and  Weather  head,  when  informed  of  the  danger  which 
had  been  theirs,  were  greatly  surprised,  and  offered 
Carson  a  large  sum  as  a  reward  for  his  services.    This 


278  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

Carson  refused,  but  later,  upon  their  return  from  St. 
Louis,  the  traders  presented  Carson  with  a  i)air  of 
silver-mounted  pistols,  suitably  inscribed. 

The  following  summer,  Carson,  returning  from  a 
trip  to  8t.  Louis,  met  with  what  was  perhaps  the  most 
perilous  adventure  of  his  life,  subsequent  to  the  close 
of  the  war  with  Mexico.  An  officer  of  the  United  States 
army  had  affronted  the  Cheyenne  Indians  by  whipping 
one  of  their  chiefs.  The  Indians  were  unable  to  avenge 
this  insult  upon  the  officer  himself,  but,  filled  with 
rage,  were  lying  in  wait  for  other  persons  traveling 
over  the  Santa  F^  Trail.  It  so  happened  that  Carson's 
l)arty  was  the  next  one  following.  He  and  his  party 
of  fifteen  were  captured,  and  at  a  council  of  the  Indians 
were  sentenced  to  death.  Many  years  before,  while  a 
hunter  at  Bent's  Fort,  Carson  knew  the  Cheyennes  well, 
but  it  seems  that  the  party  which  had  captured  him 
did  not  recognize  him  as  their  old  friend.  The  Indians 
had  sjjoken  in  their  own  tongue,  not  knowing  that  their 
words  were  understood  by  the  prisoners.  Carson  ad 
dressed  them  in  Cheyenne,  told  them  his  name,  and 
reminded  them  of  his  old  friendship,  and,  after  another 
council,  they  were  released  and  immediately  left  for 
Kayado. 

Carson  lived  at  Fernando  de  Taos  for  many  years. 
After  he  returned  fi-om  California,  and  while  General 
Sterling  Price  was  in  command  at  Santa  F6,  Carson 
did  all  in  his  jiower  to  suppress  the  rebellious  actions 
of  a  number  of  consjiirators,  among  them  Diego  Archu- 
leta, who  sought  to  overthrow  the  i)Ower  of  the  Ameri- 
can government.  Carson  always  believed  that  the  Fr. 
Antonio  Jose  ALartinez.  of  Taos,  was  the  chief  con- 
si)irator  of  them  all,  and  was  fully  aware  of  the  strong 


OP    THE    TEUUITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  270 

anti-American  sentiments  which  the  })riest  entertained. 
Carson  seldom  made  threats,  but  on  one  occasion,  at 
Taos,  he  said  tliat  notliing  would  give  him  more  pleasure 
than  a  chance  to  kill  the  priest. 

After  the  peace  with  Mexico  Carson  built  a  home 
on  the  Rayado,  where  he  lived  with  his  wife  and  his 
niece,  Teresina  Rent,  afterwards  the  wife  of  Aloys 
Scheurich.  It  was  while  living  here  that  a  large  party 
of  Comanches,  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoe  Indians  sud- 
denly a])peared  before  the  house.  Carson  believed  from 
their  actions  that  they  were  hostile,  and,  calling  his 
wife  and  niece  into  a  room  in  the  building,  told  them 
that  he  only  had  two  shots  in  his  jnstol,  and  that  the 
moment  the  Indians  should  succeed  in  entering  the 
door,  something  he  expected  to  happen  immediately,  he 
intended  to  shoot  them  both;  but  the  Indians  did  not 
make  the  anticipated  assault. 

In  the  year  1854,  Carson  was  appointed  Indian 
agent  for  the  Ute,  Apache  and  Pueblo  tribes.  He  held 
this  office  until  1861.  In  the  preceding  year  Carson 
accompanied  a  party  of  friends  on  a  trip  from  Taos 
to  tlie  Ran  Juan  country,  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
New  Mexico.  While  on  this  journey  his  horse  fell  with 
him,  injuring  him  very  badly.  He  never  fully  recovered 
from  the  effects  of  this  fall,  and  it  is  believed  that  the 
injuries  received  were  the  cause  of  his  death  eight  years 
later. 

Carson  was  at  Taos  when  the  news  reached  the 
Territory  that  Ft.  v^umpter  had  been  fired  upon  by  the 
Confederates.  He  immediately  began  the  work  of  rais- 
ing a  regiment  of  native  soldiers.  The  regiment  was 
shortly  organized,  with  Ceran  St.  Vrain  as  its  colonel, 
and  was  known  as  the  First  New  Mexico  Cavalrv,  and 


280  MILITAUY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

was  com])osed  of  citizens  of  the  counties  of  Taos,  Rio 
Arriba,  Santa  F6  and  Mora.  Carson  was  Lieutenant 
Colonel  and  J.  Francisco  Chaves  the  major  of 
the  regiment.  It  was  mustered  into  the  service  at 
Ft.  Union.  St.  Vrain  soon  resigned  his  colonelcy,  and 
Carson  became  its  commander.  The  regiment  fought 
in  the  battle  of  Valverde,  and  after  that  fight  a  portion 
of  the  regiment  garrison  Ft.  Craig  for  a  short  time. 

In  1863,  Carson  led  an  expedition  against  the 
Navajo  Indians.  Several  battles  were  fought,  in  each 
of  which  his  command  was  victorious,  the  most  notable 
being  at  Canyon  de  Chelly,  Rito  Quemado,  near  the 
San  Francisco  Mountains,  and  at  Mesa  'La  Baca.  A 
portion  of  his  command  was  mustered  out  at  Albu- 
querque in  1865,  the  balance  of  his  regiment  after- 
wards constituting  the  garrison  of  Ft.  Garland,  Colo- 
rado, in  which  locality  the  Utes  were  threatening 
hostilities.  Colonel  Carson  met  the  chief  of  the  Utes 
near  the  i)resent  town  of  Alamosa,  where  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  successfully  negotiated.  This  j)ortion  of 
Carson's  regiment  was  finally  mustered  out  of  service 
at  Santa  F6  in  the  year  1867. 

After  the  civil  war  Carson  lived  with  Thomas 
Boggs,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Purgatoire  river  in  Colo- 
rado. Here  he  built  a  home  and  established  a  small 
ranch.  On  this  property  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  which  was  filled  with  sutfcriiig.  and  which  he 
believed  was  caused  by  the  accident  receiv(»d  in  the 
San  Jnau  <ountry  sev<*ral  years  before.  His  wife  died 
on  the  2Tth  day  of  April.  1S6S,  nnd  Carson  passed  away 
on  the  23rd  day  of  May  of  the  following  year.  During 
the  last  weeks  of  his  illness  he  was  treated  by  th« 
government   surgeon   at   Fort  Lyon.     While   he   was 


Grave  of  Kit  Carson,  Taos,  N.  M. 


282  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

r<*clininj;  and  smoking  a  pipe  which  had  been  given 
to  him  by  General  Fremont,  he  was  stricken  with  a 
severe  tit  of  coughing,  expectorated  a  large  quantity 
of  blood,  and  holding  the  hand  of  his  intimate  friend, 
Aloys  Scheurich,  gasped  "Good-bye,  Compadre,"  and 
died. 

Golonel  Carson  died  a  very  poor  man;  in  fact,  he 
left  his  family  almost  nothing.  He  was  utterly  unedu- 
cated and  when  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  write  his 
name  it  was  with  great  effort  that  he  accomplished 
the  feat.  He  never  used  intoxicating  liquor.  He  had 
none  of  the  vices  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  generous  of  men.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Catholic  Church,  having  been  baptized  at 
the  time  of  his  marriage  with  Josefa  Jaramillo.  He 
belonged  to  the  Masonic  order  and  was  a  member  of 
Bent  Lodge,  at  Taos.  There  was  no  better  rifleman 
on  the  frontier  and  he  was  known  to  have  been  able 
to  toss  a  silver  dollar  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  the  air 
and  strike  it  with  a  ball  from  his  rifle  before  it  fell  to 
the  ground. 

Carson  was  buried  at  Ft.  Lyon  alongside  his  wife, 
but,  as  he  had  often  ex])ressed  a  desire  to  be  buried 
at  Taos,  late  in  the  year  1808  his  remains  and  those 
of  his  wife  were  disinterred  and  taken  to  Taos,  where 
they  now  lie  in  the  cemetery  of  that  place.  Only  one 
monument  has  been  erected  to  the  memory  of  this 
gn^atest  of  all  American  frontiersmen.  This  stands 
in  front  of  the  Federal  building  at  Santa  F6  and  was 
built  by  Senator  Stejjhen  ^^^  Dorsey. 

Carson's  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond.  The  men 
under  him  in  the  army  rendered  him  implicit  obedi- 
ence.   Carson  was  a  small  man  physically,  his  forehead 


OP    THE    TERRITORY    OP^    NEW    MEXICO.  283 

was  large  and  his  eyes  expressive.  He  was  possessed 
of  both  physical  and  moral  courage  and  when  he  be- 
lieved he  was  right  nothing  could  intimidate  him. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  intelligence,  although  unedu- 
cated, and  often  had  the  officers  under  him  read  to  him, 
thus  storing  away  in  his  retentive  mind  a  wealth  of 
knowledge  that  few  of  his  time  could  equal. 


Colonel  Manuel  Antonio  Chaves. 


MANUEL    ANTONIO    CHAVES. 

It  is  peculiarly  fortunate,  in  writing  of  the  lives 
of  the  Spanish  conquerors  and  the  events  transpiring 
in  this  section  of  America,  that  it  is  possible  to  trace 
the  course  of  events  with  great  accuracy,  particularly 
in  relation  to  genealogy.  We  are  indebted  to  the  rec- 
ords of  the  Catholic  fathers  for  this  great  privilege. 
Looking  backward  for  more  than  two  hundred  years, 
the  historical  biographer  is  not  compelled  to  indulge 
in  flights  of  the  imagination,  but  is  always  safe,  having 
at  his  command  that  recorded  certainty  of  dates  and 
persons  which  prevents  those  journeys  into  the  regions 
of  tradition  and  legendary  fable  so  often  pursued  by 
many.  There  is  very  little  of  the  mist  of  uncertainty 
connected  with  the  history  of  the  long  line  of  descend- 
ants of  those  Spaniards  who  planted  the  cross  of  Chris- 
tianity and  civilization  in  this  portion  of  America; 
but  this  fact  does  not  detract  from  the  interest  of 
study  or  thought.  The  legendary  fables  of  the  Middle 
Ages  are  scarcely  less  interesting  than  the  recitals  of 
recorded  facts  found  in  searching  the  history  of  the 
Spanish  speaking  settlers  of  New  Mexico. 

Almost  a  century  before  the  Pilgrims  landed  on 
Plymouth  Rock  the  banner  of  Santiago  had  been 
planted  on  the  walls  of  Zuni  and  in  the  vallej'  of  the 
Rio  Grande.  Long  before  Jamestown,  in  the  City  of 
Mexico,  already  rebuilt  on  the  ruins  of  Montezuma's 
capital,  'floating  about  like  corks  on  water,'  were  hun- 
dreds of  unemployed  soldiers  of  fortune,  dashing  cava- 
liers, men  of  rank  and  position,  eager  for  conquest 
and  exploration.     The  age  was  both  heroic  and  ro- 


^86  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

mantic  and  finds  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  and  each  advancing  age  of  our  literature  brings 
cumulative  evidence  of  the  delight  with  which  the 
extraordinary  events  and  circumstances  surrounding 
the  expeditions  of  the  Spaniards  into  this  country 
must  always  be  regarded.  The  |)rogress  of  these  ex- 
peditions attracted  the  attention  of  the  entire  Chris- 
tian world.  The  adventures  of  Cortez  and  Alvarado 
were  the  talk  of  the  courts  of  Europe.  The  Spanish 
cavalier  thought  only  of  the  renown  and  glory  to  be 
won  in  the  infinite  wilderness  of  the  new  world,  just 
risen  above  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic.  The  accounts 
of  the  historians  of  the  conquest  of  Mexico  inspired 
a  desire  for  further  conquest.  The  popular  literature 
of  the  i)eriod  shows  with  what  power  the  Spanish 
imagination  had  seized  upon  the  thought  of  the  great 
empire  which  had  come  to  the  crown  through  the 
arms  of  Cortez  and  his  conquering  hosts.  For  more 
than  a  century  this  enthusiasm  continued,  and  those 
who  came  were  not  of  the  class  compelled  to  leave 
their  native  shores,  but  consisted  of  representatives 
of  the  most  wealthy  and  powerful  families;  men  who 
cherished  noble  designs  and  great  hope.  Accom])any- 
ing  these  cavaliers  r-ame  the  holy  fathers,  imbued  with 
the  strength  of  a  holy  purpose,  endowed  with  a  moral 
courage  which  was  sublime. 

It  is  tlu'  j)ersomiel  of  these  expeditions  that  gives 
the  charm  io  the  story  of  the  Spanish  conquistador. 
T'nlike  the  conditions  which  existed  when  the  Atlantic 
coast  was  settled  by  the  Anglo-Saxon,  the  Spanish 
armies  were  not  recruited  from  the  slums  and  by-ways 
of  the  great  cities  of  the  kingdom.     In  the  ranks  of 


OF    TUB    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  287 

their  armies   wore  found  those  who  were  high-born 
and  nobly  bred. 

Such  were  the  ancestors  of  Don  Manuel  Antonio 
Chaves,  a  lineal  descendant  of  one  of  the  Spanish 
conquistadores,  led  by  DeVargas. 

In  the  year  A.  1).  IIGO  the  beautiful  Spanish  city 
of  Chaves  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Moors.  For  many 
years  they  had  occupied  and  held  it  against  the  con- 
stant endeavors  of  the  Spanish  king,  Don  Alonzo  En 
riquez,  to  restore  it  to  his  crown.  It  remained  for 
two  cousins  of  the  king  to  subjugate  the  Moorish  oc- 
cupants. They  were  Garci  Lopez  and  Ruiz  Lopez,  who 
raised  an  army  in  Portugal,  and  besieged  the  city. 
These  young  men  were  intrepid  warriors  and,  after 
repeated  assaults  upon  the  city's  walls,  it  fell  into  the 
hands  of  these  young  captains.  The  city  had  five 
gates,  and,  in  the  final  assault,  thousands  of  the  Moors 
perished  by  the  sword.  Information  of  the  downfall 
of  the  city  was  quickly  communicated  to  Don  Alonzo, 
who  immediately  visited  the  city,  exiled  the  Moors 
who  had  survived,  and  gave  the  city  to  two  brothers, 
who  were  also  made  knights  of  Santiago  and  ordered 
to  add  to  their  surname  that  of  Chaves.  This  is  the 
origin  of  the  Chaves  family  name.  On  his  visit  to  the 
city  the  king  was  accompanied  by  his  queen  and  two 
princesses;  all  of  these  were  present  at  the  ceremony 
when  knighthood  was  conferred  upon  the  brothers,  at 
which  two  fine  Andalusian  horses  and  saddles  were 
])resented  and  the  golden  spurs  were  placed  upon  their 
feet  by  the  royal  princesses'  own  hands. '° 


'"Chaves  es  familia  muy  noble  y  antigua  en  Bspana,  cuyo 
nombre  toma  de  la  Villa  de  Chaves  en  Portugal,  en  esta 
forma:  Garci  Lopez  y  Ruiz  Lopez,  hermanos,  ganaron  esta 
villa  ano  de   1160  a  los  Moros   sin  ayuda  del   Rey,    sino  por 


288  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

si  los;  y  por  esta  niisnia  memorable  azana  les  queda  los  de 
este  linage  el  apelido  de  Chaves.  Esto  lo  afirmo  un  letre  que 
permanece  en  el  arco  de  la  Yglesia  mayor  de  dicha  villa;  que 
dice: 

Dos  hermanos    con  ai  guinas 

Sin  Rey  ganaron  a  Chaves; 

Donde  en  Rouxo  Cristalina, 

Les  hoy  dado  por  mas  signas 

En  su  escudo  cinco  Haves. 

Estos  caballeros  eran  parientes  muy  cercanos  del  Rey 
Don  Alonzo  Enriquez.  En  1212  el  cabeza  mayor  de  la  familia 
de  Chaves  tomo  parte  en  la  batalla  de  las  Naves  de  Tolosa, 
como  lo  canto  Don  Luis  Zapasa  en  su  canto  famoso: 

Son   Chaves   cinco  Haves   relucientes 

En  hermoso  escudo  Colorado; 

Su  orla  con  ocho  aspas  excelentes 

De  San  Andres  el  bienaventurad. 

Por  los  que  antiguamente  de  sus  gentes 

Fue  el  lugar  de  Baeza  conquistado 

Que  su  esfuerzo  fue  tal  dia 

Y  fue  de  Portugal  su  antigua  guia. 

De  los  caballeros  dichos  descendio  Martin  Reymundes  de 
Chaves,  el  primero  que  paso  de  Portugal  a  Castilla,  antes 
del  ano  de  1280,  a  servir  al  Rey  Don  Fernando  IV,  y  a  la 
Reina  Dona  Maria,  su  niadre,  la  cual  ano  de  1304,  le  envio 
por  su  Enibajador  al  Infante  Don  Enriquez  de  Castilla  y 
otros  senores  que  habian  ido  a  Aragon  a  jurar  por  Rey  a 
Don  Alonzo  de  la  Cerda,  y  hal  andose  en  Ariza,  hizo  tanto 
con  ellos  y  estando  el  dia  siguiente  para  jurar  dicho  Cerda, 
deshizo  el  trato  en  la  forma  que  leemos  en  la  cronica  del 
Rey  Fernando. 

The  foregoing  is  found  in  the  Royal  Archives  of  Spain, 
at  Madrid.  The  head  of  the  Chaves  family  in  Spain  to-day 
is  El  Conde  de  Caudilla,  who  is  stationed  in  the  royal  palace, 
and  whose  title  is  ".Mayordomo  de  la  Semana."  The  Grand 
Duchess  de  Noblejas  is  his  cousin,  and  in  the  middle  of  her 
coat-of-arms  Is  found  that  of  the  family  of  Chaves. 


OF    THE    TERIUTOKV    OF    NIOW     MEXICO,  280 

Don  Fernando  de  ('haves/^  whose  full  name  was 
Fernando  Duian  de  Chaves,  and  a  son,  Don  Bernardino 
Duran  de  Chaves,  were  officers  under  Don  Diego  de 
Vargas  Zai)ata  Lujan  Ponce  de  Leon.  Don  Bernardino 
liad  a  cliild  named  Diego  Antonio  de  Chaves,  whose  son, 
Pedro  de  Chaves,  married  Doiia  Catalina  Baca,  of 
Tom^,  in  Valencia  count}',  New  Mexico.  A  sister  of 
Dona  Catalina  was  the  indirect  cause  of  the  massacre 
of  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Tom6  by 
Comanche  Indians  in  later  years.  Don  Pedro  de 
(haves  had  a  number  of  children,  among  whom  was 
Don  Julian  Chaves,  the  father  of  Don  flannel  Antonio 
Chaves. 


''Translation  from  Diary  of  Diego  de  Vargas  Zapata  Lu- 
jan Ponce  de  Leon.  In  the  New  ]\Iexico  collection  of  Ar- 
chives, now  in  the  possession  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, Washington,  D.  C,  and  which  were  unhappily  loaned 
to  the  general  government  for  purposes  of  translation  and 
chronological  arrangement,  with  the  understanding  that  they 
would  be  presently  returned  to  the  custody  of  the  Territorial 
authorities,  but  which  are  now  most  indecently  claimed  by 
the  general  government. 

December  1,  1693. 

Entry  into  this  town  of  Santa  Fe,  by  said  governor  and 
captain-general: 

On  the  sixteenth  day  of  the  month  of  December,  date 
and  year  above,  I,  the  said  governor  and  captain-general, 
about  the  eleventh  hour  of  said  day,  made  my  entry  into  this 
town  of  Santa  Fe,  and  coming  in  sight  of  the  walled  village 
where  the  Teguas  and  Tanos  reside,  with  the  squadron  on 
the  march  and  in  company  of  the  very  illustrious  corporation 
of  this  town  and  kingdom,  its  high  sheriff  and  color-bearing 
alderman,  the  captain,  Don  Bernardino  Duran  de  Chaves,  car- 
rying the  standard  referred  to  in  these  acts  and  under  which 
this  land  was  conquered,  we  arrived  at  the  square  where  we 
found  the  said  natives  congregated,  the  women  apart  from 
the  men,  all  unarmed  and  abstaining  from  any  hostile  dem- 


290  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

onstration,  but  instead  of  behaving  themselves  with  great 
composure,  and  on  proffering  to  them  our  greeting,  saying 
'Praise  to  Him'  several  times,  they  answered  'Forever';  and 
seeing  the  approach  on  foot  of  the  very  reverend  father  cus- 
todian, Friar  Salvador  de  San  Antonio,  and  in  his  train  the 
fifteen  monlvs,  priests  and  reverend  father  missionaries  and 
the  lay  brothers  of  our  father,  St.  Francis,  chanting  on  their 
march  divers  psalms,  I  get  down  from  my  horse  and  my 
example  was  followed  by  the  said  corporation,  corporals  and 
officers  of  war  and  by  the  ensign  of  the  royal  standard  in 
company  with  the  said  high  sheriff  and  color-bearing  alder- 
man, all  having  gone  out  with  the  purpose  of  receiving  the 
said  reverend  fathers,  who,  in  union  with  their  very  rever- 
end father  custodian,  came,  singing  in  processional  order, 
and  when  I  made  due  obeisance  as  I  was  passing  on  my 
way  to  the  entrance  of  said  village  and  town,  and  the  same 
thing  was  done  by  my  followers,  and  in  the  middle  of  the 
square  a  cross  had  been  raised,  where  all  present  knelt 
down  and  sang  psalms  and  prayers,  including  the  Te  Deum, 
and  in  conclusion  the  Litany  of  Our  Lady  and  the  said  very 
reverend  father  custodian,  attuning  his  voice,  sang  with  such 
joy  and  fervor  that  almost  every  one  without  exception  was 
duly  moved  by  the  happiness  of  hearing  in  such  place  the 
praises  of  our  Lord  God  and  His  Most  Holy  Mother.  And 
after  he  sung  the  hymn  three  times,  I  offered  my  congratu- 
lations to  said  very  reverend  father  and  the  rest,  telling 
them  that  notwithstanding  the  last  year,  at  the  time  of  my 
happy  contest,  I  had  given  possession  to  the  very  reverend 
father.  President  Friar  Francisco  Corvera,  who  was  one  of 
the  fathers  who  came  at  the  time  as  chaplains  to  said  army, 
which  said  reverend  father  President  had  witnessed  and  ac- 
cepted and  in  this  manner  and  in  the  name  of  this  order 
and  in  favor  of  his  sacred  religion  would  do  it  again  and 
would  grant  it  to  him  anew  with  great  pleasure,  considering 
the  great  resignation  with  which  all,  together  with  their 
very  reverend  father,  do  so  heartily  and  freely  agree  to  em- 
ploy themselves  in  the  administration  of  the  Holy  Sacra- 
ments in  this  said  newly  conquered  kingdom;  to  which  the 
said  very  reverend  father  answered,  tendering  his  thanks 
for  himself  and  all  his  order,  and  that  by  the  use  of  said 
grant,    invested    and    given    by    me,    the    said    governor   and 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  21)1 

captain-general,  they  had  enough  for  the  maintenance  of  their 
rights — much  more  than  when  they  entered  immediately  in 
the  administration  of  the  missions  above  mentioned;  and 
then  I  spoke  to  said  corporation  and  told  them  I  restored 
to  them  possession  of  their  town  and  that  likewise  they 
ought  and  should  give  me,  the  said  governor  and  captain- 
general,  testimonials  of  having  taken  the  same,  entering 
again  therein  and  of  the  pacification  of  said  Indians  and 
their  submission  to  the  Divine  and  Humane  ]\Iajesty;  in 
the  same  manner,  to  the  said  natives  in  the  plaza  of  said 
village,  I  told  and  repeated  what  Our  Lord,  the  King  had 
sent  me  on  the  news  I  gave  his  royal  Majesty  of  their  sur- 
render last  year,  with  orders  that  this  kingdom  should  be 
re-peopled;  that  with  the  information  I  had  given  of  my 
having  pardoned  them  and  of  their  obedience  which  was  the 
cause  of  said  pardon,  all  his  displeasure  had  vanished  and 
he  would  call  them  again  his  children,  and  for  that  reason 
he  had  sent  many  priests  in  order  that  they  might  be  Chris- 
tians as  they  were,  and  that  likewise  he  sent  me  with  the 
soldiers  they  saw  for  the  purpose  of  defending  them  against 
their  enemies;  that  I  came  not  to  ask  anything  of  them, 
but  only  for  two  things:  that  they  should  be  Christians  as 
they  ought,  hearing  mass  and  saying  their  prayers,  and  their 
sons  and  women  attending  to  the  catechisms  as  the  Span- 
iards did;  and  the  second  was  that  they  might  be  safe  from 
the  Apaches  and  friendly  with  all,  and  that  this  was  my 
sole  object  in  coming,  and  not  to  ask  or  take  away  any- 
thing; and  the  said  very  reverend  custodian  assured  them 
of  my  good  heart  and  the  good  intentions  which  animated 
the  Spaniards,  which  were  not  as  they  had  supposed;  that 
is  I,  the  said  governor  and  captain-general  had  come  to  kill 
them  as  they  said,  he  would  not  have  come,  and  so  they 
should  give  no  credit  to  anything  but  what  I  and  their  rev- 
erend father  told  them;  besides  I  ordered  them  that  if  they 
had  among  them  any  bad  and  malicious  Indian  they  should 
tie  him  up  and  bring  him  to  me  to  ascertain  the  truth  about 
what  he  said,  and  in  case  of  falsehood  T  would  order  his 
instant  execution,  and  that  in  this  way  we  could  live  as 
brothers  and  be  very  happy;  and  after  this  talk  we  went 
away  again,  leaving  them  their  village,  to  seek  a  more  pro- 
tected site,  the  soil  being  covered  with  snow,  and  only  about 


292  riiK  MiurAKV  occiirAiiON 

Manuel  Chaves,  whose  full  name  was  Manuel  An- 
tonio Chaves,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Atrisco,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Rio  Grande,  opposite  the  present  city 
of  Albuquerque,  on  the  18th  day  of  October,  181S. 
His  father  was  Don  Julian  Chaves,  a  great  grandson 
of  General  Fernando  de  Chaves,  the  owner  of  the 
Atrisco  land  grant.  His  mother  was  Dona  Maria  de  la 
Luz  Garcia  de  Noriega,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Fran- 
cisco Garcia  de  Noriega.     In  1844  he  was  married  to 

midday  I  found  in  the  outflows  and  slopes  a  table  land  and 
mountain  susceptible  to  some  repair,  and  therein  I,  the  said 
governor  and  captain-general  established  my  camp,  despis- 
ing the  dwelling  place,  a  tower  house  which  had  been  pre- 
pared for  my  occupation,  having  in  the  same  a  fireplace, 
which  a  resident  told  me  belonged  to  said  house  and  as  such 
to  himself;  to  which  I  replied  he  might  repair  to  the  same; 
and  in  testimony  whereof,  regarding  said  entry,  I  sign  my 
name  in  company  with  the  very  illustrious  corporation  and 
corporals  and  war  officers;  likewise  the  two  secretaries  who 
were  present  therein  in  said  town. 
(Seal)  Dated  Ut  Supra. 

DIEGO   DE   VARGAS   ZAPATA 

LUJAX   PONCE  DE   LEOX. 
LORENZO   DE   MADRID. 
FERNANDO  DE  CHAVES. 
J.  DE  LEYBA. 
LAZARO  DE  MESQUIA. 
ROQUE   :\IADRID. 
.JOSEPH  MIERA. 
XAVIER   DE   ORTEGA. 

Secretary  of  the  Town  Corporation. 
JI^AN  DE  ALMAZAN. 
Before  me:    ANTONIO  DE  BALVERDE, 
Secretary  of  Gov.  and  War. 
1  attest  the  above: 

ALFONZO  RAEL  DE  AGUILAR, 

One  of  the   Secretaries  of  Gov.  and  War  of  the 
Governor  and   Captain-General." 


OF    THE    TKRRITOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  203 

Dona  Vineenta  Labadie,  a  great  grand-daughter  of  the 
famous  captain,  Sebastian  Martin.  He  died  at  his 
home,  at  San  Mateo,  Valencia  county.  New  Mexico,  in 
1S89,  leaving  a  family  of  eight  children.  Manuel  Chaves 
was  descended  from  a  long  line  of  intrepid  warriors 
and,  by  nature,  was  a  leader  of  men.  When  very 
young  the  family  moved  from  Atrisco  to  Cebolleta, 
where  he  lived  until  1831,  when  he  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  the  Villa  de  Santa  F^.  When  sixteen  years 
of  age  he  took  part  in  his  first  Indian  campaign  against 
the  Navajos.  His  oldest  brother,  Don  Jose  Chaves, 
organized  a  company  of  fifty  young  men  for  the  cam 
};aign  and  Don  Jose  was  made  commander.  In  those 
days  all  the  savage  tribes  w^ere  at  war  and  many  were 
the  murders  committed  by  them  in  their  merciless 
raids.  Many  Mexican  children  were  carried  into  cap- 
tivity. The  settlers,  by  way  of  retaliation  and  the 
infliction  of  punishment  upon  the  Indians,  in  their 
campaigns  into  the  Indian  country,  would  also  take 
captive  children,  bring  them  to  the  settlements,  where 
they  would  either  be  sold  or  retained  as  servants. 
These  captives  w^ere  always  treated  with  the  greatest 
kindness  by  the  Mexicans. 

The  expedition,  of  which  Chaves  was  a  member, 
was  composed  of  picked  men,  and  the  hopes  of  its 
members  for  a  successful  issue  ran  high,  expecting,  as 
thej,  did,  to  return,  bringing  droves  of  horses  and 
sheep  and  numerous  captives,  which  last,  at  this  time, 
were  worth  five  hundred  dollars  each.  A  terrible  fate, 
however,  awaited  them.  Having  travelled  many  days, 
and  ex]}ecting  to  find  the  Navajos  scattered  all  over 
their  country,  as  was  their  custom,  as  they  lived  in 
bands,  the  expedition  arrived  at  the  Canon  de  Chdlly, 


294  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

where  thousands  of  Indians  were  gathered,  holdinj^ 
great  feasts  and  ceremonial  dances.  The  Mexicans 
were  soon  discovered  by  the  Indians  and,  in  the  ter- 
rific battle  which  ensued,  lasting  all  day,  every  one 
of  the  expedition  was  either  killed  or  wounded.  Only 
two  survived — Manuel  Chaves  and  a  civilized  Navajo 
boy,  who  had  accoinj)anied  the  expedition  from  Cebol- 
leta,  where  he  had  been  raised  by  a  prominent  Mexican 
family.  Chaves  had  seven  arrow  wounds,  one  arrow 
having  pierced  his  body  through  and  through;  the  boy 
was  also  wounded  in  the  breast,  but  not  so  severely'  as 
to  prevent  his  hiding  in  the  rocks  of  the  canon.  When 
night  came  the  Indians  moved  to  their  camps,  believ- 
ing that  every  one  of  their  enemies  had  been  slain. 
After  much  etlort  Chaves  succeeded  in  finding  the 
dead  bod}'  of  his  brother,  which,  with  the  aid  of  the 
boy,  he  carried  to  a  nearby  arrojo  and  buried  in  the 
sand.  Finally  the  two  young  men  started  on  their 
journey  to  the  settlement  at  Cebolleta;  all  night  and 
the  following  day  they  travelled,  arriving  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  second  day  at  a  beautiful  spring  of  clear, 
sweet  water,  situate  where  now  is  located  Fort  Win- 
gate,  New  Afexico.  They  had  been  without  food  or 
water  since  the  beginning  of  the  battle  three  days 
before.  Chaves  removed  his  clothing  and  took  a  bath 
in  the  cold  water  of  the  pool  near  the  spring,  and  his 
wounds  bled  freely.  The  Indian  boy  would  not  get 
into  the  water,  fearing  that  the  result  would  be  bad 
for  his  wound.  Instead,  he  took  some  carnaza  from 
the  inside  of  his  moccasins  and  attempted  to  dress  the 
wound  in  his  breast.  Starvation  seemed  to  be  their 
lot,  when  they  found  some  very  large  cactus,  and 
stripping  the  thorns,  made  an  excellent  meal.     That 


OF    THE    TEKRITOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO,  29o 

night  the  pair  slept  in  a  grove  of  trees  not  far  from 
the  spring,  and.  wlien  daylight  came,  Chaves,  mneh 
to  his  surprise,  found  the  Indian  hoy  dead  and  his  body 
very  badly  swollen.  Covering  the  boy's  body  with 
brush,  Chaves  proceeded  on  his  way  alone,  traveling 
for  two  days  and  nights  with  no  food  except  cactus. 
On  the  morning  of  the  third  day  he  came  across  some 
fresh  moccasin  tracks,  which  led  him  to  a  large  rock, 
which  he  managed  to  climb,  where,  to  his  great  sur- 
prise and  satisfaction,  he  found  a  big  hole,  full  of 
water.  The  day  following  he  came  to  the  lovely  val- 
ley where  San  ^lateo  is  now  located  and  passed  the 
night  under  two  beautiful  oak  trees. '- 

The  next  day  he  noticed  some  smoke  on  top  of 
the  San  Mateo  Mountains,  and  later  found  some  Mexi- 
can shepherds,  who  prepared  a  litter  and  carried  him 
to  the  town  of  Cebolleta.  He  continued  living  in 
Cebolleta  for  several  years  and  became  renowned  as 
an  Indian  fighter,  leading  many  successful  expeditions 
against  the  savage  foes.  About  1837,  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  Santa  Fe,  where  he  lived  for  man}'  years, 
and  where,  with  the  Pinos  and  other  leaders,  he  fig- 
ured very  i)rominently  in  the  history  of  the  Capital. 

In  1841,  when  Manuel  Armijo  w^as  governor  of 
New  Mexico,  news  was  brought  to  Santa  F6  that  a 
large  party  of  Americans  were  traveling  through  the 
eastern  portion  of  New  Mexico  and  at  the  time  w^ere 
in  the  vicinitv  of  Anton  Chico,  on  the  Pecos  river. 


•-In  1876,  Chaves  moved  from  the  Pecos  river,  where  he 
was  then  living,  to  San  ^Nlateo,  and  built  his  home  within  one 
hundred  feet  of  the  oalt  trees.  Immediately  back  of  these 
trees  he  built  a  family  chapel,  in  which  his  remains  lie 
buried  together  with  those  of  his  wife  and  children  who 
have  died. 


296  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

The  jjovernor  was  advised  that  the  men  were  armed 
and  were  not  traders  similar  to  those  who  traveled 
over  the  Santa  Fe  trail  from  the  Missouri  river,  Ar- 
mijo  very  wisely  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
were  Texans  bent  upon  asserting  the  claim  of  the 
Texas  Republic  to  all  that  portion  of  New  Mexico 
lying  east  of  the  Rio  Grande.  Calling  together  his 
military  staff,  a  council  was  held  and  it  was  deter- 
mined to  immediately  apprehend  the  invaders.  Diego 
Archuleta  and  Manuel  (haves  were  ordered  to  or- 
ganize a  force  of  one  hundred  men,  with  instructions 
to  proceed  to  the  camp  of  the  American  force  and 
bring  them  to  the  capital  dead  or  alive.  No  time  was 
lost  by  Chaves  in  organizing  this  command,  and,  well 
armed,  they  left  the  Capital  for  Anton  Chico,  and  soon 
learned  that  the  Americans  were  in  camp  not  far  from 
San  Jose,  at  a  place  called  Caiion  Largo,  situate  in  a 
dense  forest.  During  the  night  they  surrounded  the 
camp  of  the  Americans,  and,  at  daylight  the  following 
morning,  Chaves  posted  his  men  in  convenient  places 
and  walked  into  the  camp  where  breakfast  was  being 
prepared.  He  went  unarmed.  Being  familiar  with  the 
English  language,  he  saluted  them  in  that  tongue  and 
asked  for  the  leader  of  the  i)arty.  As  he  spoke,  a 
fine  looking  young  man  came  from  a  tent  and  an- 
nounced that  he  was  the  commander  of  the  party  and 
that  his  name  was  Cooke.  Chaves  then  explained  to 
him  that,  acting  under  the  orders  of  the  governor  of 
New  Mexico,  they  had  come  from  Santa  Fi'*  for  the 
I)uri)ose  of  taking  them  to  the  Capital  as  prisoners, 
and  explained  further  the  belief  entertained  by  Gov- 
ernor Armijo  as  to  their  motive  in  coming  to  New 
Mexico.    Cooke  protested  that  they  were  simply  trav- 


OF    THE    TERRITOUY    OP    NEW    MEXICO.  297 

eling  as  friends  on  pleasure  and  luinting,  and  this 
being-  tlie  case,  he  did  not  see  any  good  reason  for 
their  being  molested;  that  they  were  well  armed,  on 
account  of  the  Indians,  and  asked  what  would  be  done 
in  the  event  he  refused  to  surrender.  Chaves  then 
gave  a  call  and  in  a  moment  his  men  approached  the 
camp  from  all  directions,  rifles  in  hand.  Chaves  in- 
formed Cooke  that  he  and  his  men  would  be  well 
treated  on  the  trip  to  Santa  Fe  and,  after  receiving 
their  arms,  proceeded  at  once  to  the  Capital,  where, 
on  their  arrival,  they  were  turned  over  to  Governor 
Armijo.  The  Governor  gave  the  entire  party  in  charge 
of  Captain  Damasio  Salazar,  an  officer  in  the  Mexican 
army.  Chaves  and  Cooke  became  very  friendly  during 
the  march  to  Santa  F(?,  and,  upon  application  to  Gov- 
( rnor  Armijo,  Cooke  became  the  guest  of  Chaves  at 
his  home  in  Santa  Fd  until  the  entire  party  were  or- 
dered sent  to  the  City  of  Mexico  by  Armijo,  who  fully 
believed  that  he  had  captured  the  advance  guard  of 
an  army  of  conquest  and  occupation  from  the  Kepublic 
of  Texas.  Cooke  made  many  friends  in  Santa  Fe,  who 
parted  with  him  with  great  regret.  Chaves  and  Ar- 
chuleta received  the  cross  of  honor  from  the  Mexican 
Government  on  account  of  their  services  in  this 
exploit. 

Chaves  was  a  resident  of  Santa  Fe  when  the  army 
under  General  Kearny  took  possession  of  the  city  and 
territory.  He  was  one  of  the  officers  under  Armijo, 
in  command  of  the  volunteer  forces  at  Apache  pass, 
and  was  in  favor  of  a  defense  of  the  position  taken 
by  the  Mexican  troops  in  the  narrow  defile  through 
which  the  Kearnv  column  was  expected  to  pass. 


L*J)8  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

In  December,  1846.  rumors  were  current  in  certain 
circles  in  Santa  F{'  that  a  conspiracy  was  being  formed 
bv  certain  Mexican  leaders  looking  to  the  overthrow 
of  the  government.  Some  old  residents  of  Santa  F6, 
who  had  come  from  the  United  States  long  before  the 
Mexican  war,  informed  General  Price,  who  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  American  army  at  Santa  F6,  that  there 
was  no  doubt  that  the  Americans  would  be  attacked 
when  they  least  expected  it,  and  that  most  of  them 
would  be  killed.  Information  of  the  same  sort  was 
brought  to  Donaciano  Vigil,  the  secretary  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, by  a  woman  of  shady  character  named  Tules 
Barcelona.  Steps  were  immediately  taken  by  the  mili- 
tar}'  to  suppress  the  outbreak  and  twelve  or  fifteen 
prominent  Mexicans  were  taken  into  custody,  while 
others,  more  prominently  connected  with  the  affair, 
made  good  their  escape.  Among  those  arrested  by 
General  Price  were  Manuel  Chaves,  and  his  warm 
friends,  Miguel  Estanislado  Pino  and  Nicolas  Pino. 
General  I*rice  was  advised  to  keep  them  in  ]>rison  and 
all  would  he  well,  and  also  suggested  that  it  would  be 
well  to  have  Manuel  Chaves  shot,  as  he  was  the  most 
dangerous  man  in  the  Territory  in  case  of  trouble. 
Chaves  and  the  Pinos  were  arrested  while  sitting 
under  the  portal  in  front  of  the  Exchange  hotel.  Don 
Miguel  E.  I'ino  was  the  greatest  statesman  of  his  day 
in  New  Mexico.  lie  was  a  venerable  looking  man  and 
was  resi)ected  and  loved  by  all  who  knew  him.  He 
was  kept  in  the  military  prison  seven  days  and  finally 
released.  Don  Nicolas  Pino,  a  younger  brother  of 
Don  Miguel,  was  the  best  looking  man  in  New  Mexico. 
He  favored  his  father.  Don  Pedro  Bauj)tista  Pino,  the 
only  man   who  ever  represented   New   Mexico  in  the 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  200 

Spanish  Cortes.  He  was  a  very  lar^e  man,  over  six 
feet  tall  and  weighed  about  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  pounds.  Don  Nicolas  was  kept  in  jail  twenty- 
two  days.  Don  ]Manuel  Chaves  was  a  small  man, 
five  feet  seven  inches  in  height  and  weighed 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds.  He  had 
steel  gray  eyes  and  light  brown  hair  and  a 
florid  complexion.  One  day  while  Chaves  was  in 
prison,  General  Price  sent  Captain  Angney  to 
talk  with  him  and  ascertain  whether  he  had  any  in- 
formation of  the  conspiracy  that  was  said  to  be  form- 
ing all  over  New  Mexico  for  the  purpose  of  killing  the 
Americans,  and  whether  he  was  in  sympathy  with 
the  movement  and  would  co-operate  with  the  con- 
spirators if  free  to  do  so.  Chaves  said  in  reply:  'Cap- 
tain, be  kind  enough  to  take  my  compliments  to  Gen- 
eral Price  and  say  that  he  has  nothing  to  fear  from 
me  now.  When  Armijo  disbanded  the  volunteer  army 
at  Caiioncito,  I  gave  up  all  hope  of  being  of  any  service 
to  my  country  at  this  time,  and  my  record  as  a  man 
will  show  that  I  am  not  at  all  likely  to  sympathize 
with  any  movement  to  murder  people  in  cold  blood. 
Tell  him  also  that  if  the  time  ever  comes  when  I  can 
be  of  an}'  service  to  my  own  country.  General  Price 
will  find  me  m  the  front  ranks." 

Enemies  of  Chaves  finally  induced  General  Price 
to  order  a  court  martial  for  his  trial.  This  court  con- 
vened in  January,  1847,  and  Chaves,  under  a  strong 
guard,  was  taken  to  Military  Headquarters  where  the 
court  was  in  session.  He  was  charged  with  treason 
against  the  United  States  and  Captain  Angney  was  de- 
tailed to  defend  him.  Captain  Angney  was  a  lawyer 
by  i)rofession  and  his  defense  of  Chaves  was  masterly. 


300  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

He  contended  that  inasmuch  as  the  prisoner  was  not  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States  there  could  be  no  trea- 
sonable act  on  his  part,  and  that  in  being  ready  to 
resist  the  Americans  who  had  taken  possession  of 
the  country,  was  an  exhibition  of  patriotism  on  his 
l>art  and  worthy  of  the  admiration  of  all  brave  men, 
and  that  his  own  country  would  forever  bear  the  stain 
of  disgrace  if  it  undertook,  under  any  pretext,  to  shoot 
a  man  for  endeavoring  to  defend  his  country  in  time 
of  need.  Chaves  was  acquitted  and  set  at  liberty.  He 
retired  to  his  home,  immediately  in  the  rear  of  the 
Guadalupe  church  in  Santa  Fd,  and,  early  the  follow- 
ing morning,  was  informed  of  the  breaking  out  of  the 
revolution  at  Taos  and  the  killing  of  Governor  Bent 
and  other  Americans  at  that  place.  Steps  were  taken 
at  once  by  General  Price  to  put  an  end  to  the  revolu- 
tion and  to  punish  the  insurgents.  An  ''Emergency 
Battalion"  was  organized  in  Santa  F6,  made  up  of 
citizens,  with  Ceran  St.  Vrain  as  caj)tain.  Chaves  was 
offered  a  commission  in  this  battalion  by  St.  Vrain,  but 
declined,  and,  having  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  United  States,  marched  in  the  ranks  to  Taos,  an 
enlisted  man.  Don  Nicolas  Pino  also  enlisted  and 
both  took  an  active  part  in  the  battle  of  Taos.  While 
the  battle  was  in  progress  Chaves  and  St.  Vrain  were 
fighting  side  by  side,  when  two  Indians  came  running 
toward  them  on  horseback,  evidently  looking  for  a 
hand  to  hand  conflict.  As  they  approached,  Chaves 
raised  his  rifie  and  fired;  St.  Vrain  expected  to  shoot 
the  other  Indian,  but,  at  the  very  moment  of  taking 
aim.  a  big  Ay)ache  Indian  jumped  from  behind  some 
cedars  and  grabbed  St.  Vrain's  rifle;  a  fierce  struggle 
followed;  St.  Vrain  called  to  Chaves  to  kill  the  Indian 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OP    NEW    MEXICO.  301 

who  was  coming  on  horseback,  as  he  would  handle 
the  Apache.  Chaves  had  killed  the  Indian  at  whom 
he  had  fired  his  first  shot  and  his  companion  turned 
and  fled.  Chaves  then  ran  to  the  assistance  of  St. 
Vrain  and  struck  the  Apache  a  terrific  blow  on  the 
head  with  his  "Hawkins"  rifle.  The  Indian  fell  dead 
across  the  legs  of  St.  Vrain,  who  was  completely  ex- 
hausted and  in  another  moment  the  Indian  would 
have  taken  his  life  with  an  immense  knife  which  he 
had  been  tr^-ing  to  use.  From  that  day  St.  Vrain  and 
Chaves  were  the  greatest  of  friends. 

Chaves  was  a  wonderful  shot  with  the  rifle  and 
bow  and  arrow.  No  Indian  was  ever  found  w^ho  could 
shoot  an  arrow  as  far  as  he.  While  he  lived  in  Santa 
F6  many  parties  of  Indians  were  accustomed  to  come 
to  the  city  for  the  purpose  of  shooting  with  him  and 
wagering  horses,  blankets  and  buckskin  on  the  result, 
but  they  were  invariably  defeated. 

In  1855,  the  Utes  and  Apaches  of  the  North  went 
on  the  war  path  and  many  settlers  were  killed.  The 
military  authorities  determined  to  send  an  army  to 
suppress  thein.  For  this  purpose  a  battalion  of 
mounted  volunteers  was  called  into  service  by  General 
Garland,  at  that  time  in  command  of  the  Department 
of  New  Mexico,  with  headquarters  at  Santa  F^. 
Colonel  Ceran  St.  Vrain  was  placed  in  command  of 
the  battalion  and  Manuel  Chaves  was  a  captain  of  one 
of  the  six  companies  comprising  the  command.  Alex- 
ander McDowell  McCook  was  the  Quartermaster  of 
the  expedition.  He  was  then  a  young  lieutenant  and 
afterwards  became  a  Major-General  during  the  Civil 
War.  William  Craig  and  Smith  H.  Simpson  were 
officers  in  this  expedition. 


302  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

This  expedition  left  Santa  F6  and  traveled  to  the 
north  as  far  as  a  place  known  as  Saguache,  where 
the  Utes  and  Apaches  in  great  numbers  were  in  camp. 
Scouts  had  advised  the  main  body  of  the  Indians  of 
the  approach  of  the  troops,  and,  as  the  latter  came  in 
view,  from  the  forest  came  the  Indian  charge,  all 
mounted,  wearing  war  bonnets,  and  carrying  shields 
and  lances.  There  were  hundreds  of  the  painted  sav- 
ages, and  the  attack  turned  into  a  hand-to-hand  con 
flict.  A  3'ouug  Apache  chief  rode  to  and  fro,  yelling 
at  the  top  of  his  voice,  and  encouraging  his  warriors 
at  every  hand.  This  chief,  with  lance  in  hand,  boldly 
charged  upon  Captain  Chaves,  who  killed  him  with 
a  shot  from  his  unerring  rifle;  before  the  Indian  had 
fallen  from  his  horse  he  was  dragged  to  the  ground 
by  Antonio  Tapia  and  scalped  with  a  knife,  which 
afterwards  came  into  the  possession  of  Major  Weight- 
man,  and  was  used  by  him  when  he  killed  Felix  X. 
Aubrey  in  the  Exchange  hotel,  at  Santa  F6.  The 
Indians  finally  turned  and  fled,  having  suffered  great 
loss.  Following  this  battle,  were  fought  those  of  Co- 
chotopa,  Poncha  Pass,  Nepesta,  Cerro  Blanco  and  El 
Rito,  in  all  of  which  the  troops  were  victorious.     '^In 


'"'Company  D  New  Mexico  Mounted  Volunteers. 

Head  of  San  Luis  Valley,  N'ew  .Mexico,  April  30,  1855. 
Col.  Fauntleroy. 

Sir:  I  have  the  pleasure  in  reporting  to  you  that  after 
I  received  your  order  through  Lieutenant  .Magruder,  A.  A.  G., 
to  burn  everything  that  was  left  by  the  Utes,  I  burned  a 
great  number  of  shields,  bows  and  arrows,  buck-skins  and 
other  things  not  worth  mentioning.  In  the  meantime,  I 
marched  up  to  the  mountains  and  above  the  camp  to  the 
right,  close  to  the  Arkansas  river,  and  counted  forty  bodies 
of  dead  Indians  within  about  three  miles  of  the  camp  where 
we   had   the   fight.      .My   company   found   29   horses   and   one 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  303 

the  month  of  July,  1855,  the  surviving  chiefs  came  to 
Santa  F6  and  asked  for  peace,  and,  in  August  of  that 
year,  a  treaty  was  signed. 

In  1859,  the  Soutliern  Apaches  began  the  com- 
mission of  many  depredations,  and  many  settlers  and 
travelers  were  murdered  by  marauding  bands,  chiefly 
under  the  leadership  of  the  great  Apache  Chief,  Man- 
gas  Coloradas. 

Colonel  Loring,  a  hero  of  the  Mexican  War,  was, 
at  that  time,  in  command  of  the  Department  of  New 
Mexico.  He  determined  to  lead,  in  person,  a  cam- 
paign against  the  Apaches,  He  requested  Captain 
Chaves  to  raise  a  company  of  volunteers  to  accom- 
pan}-  him.  This  was  done  b}^  Chaves  in  five  days. 
The  exjjedition  was  composed  of  several  companies 
of  regulars  and  the  volunteers,  under  Captain  Chaves. 
Traveling  south,  on  the  Jornado  del  Muerto,  the  com- 
mand crossed  the  trail  of  a  very  large  band  of  Indians. 
Colonel  Loring  called  a  council  of  his  officers  to  deter- 
mine upon  the  best  plan  of  pursuit.  Many  opinions 
were  ex])ressed,  and  finall}'  Loring  asked  Chaves  what, 
in  his  judgment,  was  the  best  plan.  ''Colonel,"  said 
Chaves,  "I  am  a  soldier,  and  came  here  to  obey  orders, 
but  now  that  I  am  asked  my  opinion.  I  think  there 
is  only  one  way,  and  that  is  to  follow  them  Indian 
fashion,  traveling  day  and  night,  make  no  fires,  and 
eating  what  we  can  without  cooking.  They  know  we 
are  on  their  trail,  and  unless  we  move  rapidly  they 


mule.  I  do  not  doubt  that  the  Indians  that  got  away  will 
die  in  a  very  short  time,  as  the  blood  on  the  trail  shows 
that  they  could  not  live  long. 

I  remain  your  obedient  servant, 
MANUEL   CHAVES, 

Captain,  N.  :\I.  Mounted  Volunteers." 


304  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

will  be  in  Mexico  before  we  get  sight  of  them.  If 
you  will  allow  me  to  go  ahead  with  my  company,  I 
know  that  I  will  overtake  them."  "All  right,  cap- 
tain," said  Loring,  "if  you  can  stand  it,  we  can;  go 
ahead.'-  The  pursuit  began.  Day  and  night  they  trav- 
eled the  drearj',  sandy  desert  wastes.  Some  of  the 
men.  exhausted,  fell  from  their  saddles;  others  fell 
asleep  while  riding;  officers  and  men  began  to  grum- 
ble, and,  finally,  Loring  halted  the  command  and  the 
men  took  a  night's  rest,  all  but  Captain  Chaves,  his 
half-brother,  Don  Romen  A.  Baca,  Don  Lorenzo  Laba 
die,  his  brother-in-law,  and  Don  Jesus  Chaves,  a  close 
relative.  These  were  all  Indian  hunters  and  scouts  of 
experience.  When  they  had  made  a  close  examina 
tion  of  the  trail,  Chaves  carae  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  Indians  were  only  a  short  distance  in  advance. 
Carefully  and  stealthily  each  man  scouted  and 
searched,  and,  within  two  hours,  the  Indians  were 
located  at  the  bottom  of  a  dee[)  canon;  their  fires  were 
so  numerous  that  they  could  not  be  counted.  Quickly 
Chaves  and  his  companions  returned  to  camp  and  re- 
(|nosted  Colonel  Loring  to  order  an  immediate  advance. 
The  order  was  given,  and  before  daylight  the  troops 
had  arrived  at  the  rim  of  the  canon,  where  the  almost 
extinguished  camp  fires  of  the  Indians  could  be  plainly 
seen.  The  proper  manner  of  attack  was  discussed  by 
Loring  with  his  officers,  some  advising  that  the  com- 
mand be  divided,  one  part  going  below,  and  the  other 
above  the  Indian  camp.  Captain  Chaves  stated  that 
if  this  j)lan  was  pursued,  before  the  bottom  of  the 
canon  could  possibly  be  reached  by  the  troops,  the 
Indians  would  be  far  away:  ihat  the  only  way  was 
to  dash  down   the  prerijdtous  walls  of  the  canon,  on 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  305 

foot,  thus  giving  the  enemy  a  complete  snri)rise  and 
kill  or  capture  them  before  they  could  run  away. 
Some  of  the  officers  opposed  Chaves'  plan  as  being  too 
dangerous,  a  Captain  Butler  saying  that  it  was  a  bar- 
barous i)roposition,  when  Loring  ordered  Butler  to 
take  his  company  and  go  below  and  find  a  place  for 
easy  descent  into  the  canon.  Turning  to  Captain 
Chaves,  he  said:  "Now,  Captain,  I  will  go  down  the 
precipice  with  you.''  And  down  they  went,  spread- 
ing consternation  and  dismay  in  the  ranks  of  the  In- 
dians; a  great  slaughter  followed;  Indian  after  Indian 
fell  by  the  bullets  that  were  fairly  rained  upon  them. 
Colonel  Loring  only  had  one  arm,  having  lost  the 
other  in  the  Mexican  war,  but  with  pistol  in  hand  he 
was  always  in  the  lead.  Many  Indians  were  cap- 
tured, among  others  the  chief  himself,  the  famous, 
bloodthirsty  warrior,  Mangas  Coloradas.  Chief  Man- 
gas  was  a  very  old  man,  with  white  hair,  and  was 
captured  as  he  came  out  of  his  tent,  rifle  in  hand. 
The  troops  were  now  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  Indians 
w^ho  had  fled  down  the  canon.  Captain  Chaves  left 
a  man  named  Johnson,  a  volunteer,  with  others,  be- 
hind, to  guard  the  captives.  When  they  returned  they 
found  that  Johnson  had  killed  the  chief,  saying  that 
he  had  done  so  while  Mangas  was  endeavoring  to 
escape. 

The  year  following  the  return  of  this  exjiedition 
witnessed  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war.  When 
the  news  of  the  firing  upon  Ft.  Sumpter  reached  mil- 
itary headquarters  at  Santa  Fe,  Colonel  Loring  sent  for 
all  the  officers  in  the  several  camjis  and  posts  in  Xew 
^lexico  to  be  present  at  a  conference  at  Ft.  Marcy. 
The  meeting  was   held   in   the   old    Palace    at    Santa 


300  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

Fo.  TTo  told  tho  offieers  of  the  commencement  of  hos- 
tilities .and  stated  that  he  had  called  them  together 
that  they  might  decide  which  side  each  would  take. 
'*For  my  part,  he  said,  "the  South  is  my  home,  and 
I  am  going  to  throw  up  my  commission  and  shall  join 
the  Southern  army,  and  each  of  you  can  do  as  you 
think  best."  Captain  Jewett  and  several  others,  from 
the  South,  expressed  the  same  sentiments.  Colonel 
Loring  called  upon  his  old  friend.  Captain  Chaves,  and 
asked  him  to  join  him  and  promised  that  he  would 
receive  a  commission  as  Colonel  in  the  Southern  army. 
Captain  Chaves  declined,  saying,  "Colonel,  when  I 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States,  I 
swore  to  ])rotect  the  American  flag,  and  if  my  serv- 
ices are  needed  I  shall  give  them  to  the  country  of 
my  adoption  and  her  flag." 

The  same  year  volunteer  regiments  were  raised 
in  Xew  Mexico,  and  Captain  Chaves  received  a  com- 
mission as  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  2d  Regiment. 
New  ^fexico  Volunteer  Infantry.  Miguel  E.  Pino  was 
colonel  of  the  regiment.  Colonel  Chaves,  with  a  por- 
tion of  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Ft.  Fauntleroy, 
now  Ft.  Wingate.  where  he  remained  in  command  un- 
til February.  1S02.  when  the  entire  regiment,  under 
Colonel  Pino,  proceeded  to  Valverde  and  took  j)art  in 
that  battle  on  th<*  21st  day  of  that  month.  After  the 
battle  of  Valverde.  Chaves  and  a  portion  of  his  regi- 
ment followed  the  Conf<'derate  forces  north,  and  took 
part  in  the  battle  of  Olorieta.  some  of  his  men  aiding 
in  the  destruction  of  the  Confederate  wagon  train  at 
(^'afioncito.  After  the  war  was  over.  Colonel  Chaves 
returned   to   his  home  to  find   that   the  Navajos   had 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    iSEW    MEXICO.  307 

stolen  all  his  sheep,  cattle  and  horses  and  left  him 
penniless. 

After  Colonel  Chaves  had  been  mustered  out  of 
the  army,  the  Navajos  made  a  descent  upon  the  val- 
ley of  the  Kio  Grande  in  the  county  of  Socorro,  kill- 
ing many  people  and  driving  off  great  herds  of  cattle, 
horses  and  sheep.  They  also  carried  into  captivity 
a  son  of  Matias  Contreras,  a  very  prominent  citizen 
of  Socorro  county,  who  is  still  alive.  Colonel  Chaves 
was  notified  of  the  raid  and  Contreras  asked  his  aid 
in  recovering  possession  of  his  son.  Chaves  started 
with  eight  picked  men  and  joined  Contreras  and  To- 
mas  Baca,  of  Socorro,  and  took  up  the  trail  of  the 
Indians.  After  traveling  about  one  hundred  miles 
they  came  upon  the  Indians,  who  numbered  over  one 
hundred  warriors.  Chaves  and  his  companions  were 
mounted  on  mules,  and  as  the  Indians  saw  them  com- 
ing they  turned  to  give  them  battle.  Chaves  and  his 
men  dismounted  and  tied  their  animals  to  trees.  From 
behind  the  trees  also  Chaves  and  his  intrepid  compan- 
ions fought.  At  first  the  Indians  directed  all  their 
efforts  to  the  killing  of  the  mules,  picking  them  off 
one  by  one.  The  fight  lasted  all  afternoon  until  dark, 
at  which  time  every  man  had  been  killed  by  the  Indi- 
ans except  Chaves,  Contreras  and  Baca.  Baca's  leg 
had  been  broken  by  a  rifle  ball,  and  that  night  Chaves 
and  Contreras  carried  him  as  best  they  could,  until 
they  found  a  sheltered  place,  where  they  expected  the 
battle  would  be  renewed  in  the  morning.  The  Indi- 
ans, however,  left  during  the  night.  When  this  fight 
began  Colonel  Chaves  had  183  bullets  and  plenty  of 
powder;  when  night  came  he  had  just  three  bullets 
left.     According  to  Colonel  Chaves  and  his  compan- 


308  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

ions,  over  fifteen  savages  fell  that  day  by  Chaves' 
rifle.  During  the  entire  fight  he  walked  from  one  tree 
to  another,  firing  the  guns  of  his  companions,  while 
they  loaded  his  for  him.  One  of  the  young  men  who 
lost  his  life  in  this  battle  was  Jose  Maria  Chave.s. 
All  day  he  fought,  was  wounded  half  a  dozen  times, 
and  finally  fell  with  a  bullet  through  his  head.  Colo 
nel  Chaves  was  not  even  wounded,  although  two  bul- 
lets passed  through  his  hat.  The  three  friends  left 
the  scene  of  battle  for  the  Rio  Grande,  and  on  the 
way  met  Captain  Roman  A.  Baca,  with  a  party  of 
men,  who  had  come  out,  believing  that  Colonel  Chaves 
and  his  companions  had  all  been  killed.  Colonel 
Chaves  said  many  times  that  this  was  the  hardest  bat 
tie  he  ever  fought. 

Colonel  Loring,  after  the  close  of  the  civil  war, 
went  to  Egypt,  where  he  was  an  officer  under  the  Khe- 
dive. On  his  return  to  the  United  States,  he  wrote  a 
volume  of  personal  memoirs,  in  which  he  tells  most 
grai>hically  of  his  campaigns  and  services  to  his  coun 
try  in  New  Mexico  and  the  Southwest.  He  writes 
most  highly  of  his  friend.  Colonel  Manuel  Chaves,  and 
says  that,  had  "Chaves  lived  in  the  Middle  Ages,  he 
would  have  been  a  second  Cid  Campeador." 


General  Nicolas  Pino. 


NICOLAS  PINO. 

There  were  many  valiant  cavaliers  accompanying 
the  Re-Conquistador,  Captain  General  Diego  de  Var- 
gas Zapata  Lujan  Ponce  de  Leon,  to  the  Kingdom  of 
New  Mexico  in  the  year  1G93,  not  the  least  of  whom 
was  Captain  Nicolas  Ortiz  Nino  Ladron  de  Guevarra. 
He  was  a  most  adventurous  spirit,  whom  a  restless 
love  of  enterprise  induced  to  join  the  expedition  un- 
der the  great  Spanish  captain.  The  life  of  Ortiz  is  as 
brilliant  and  exciting  as  a  fairy  tale,  and  his  remark- 
able adventures  served  to  develop  a  bold  and  cour- 
ageous character. 

While  yet  a  boy  he  had  won  the  favor  of  his 
king  by  winning  from  the  Moors  the  city  of  Guevarra, 
by  which  exploit  he  secured  from  his  royal  master  the 
addition  to  his  name,  ''Niilo  Ladron  de  Guevarra." 

When  the  expedition  under  De  Vargas  sailed 
from  Spain  for  the  New  World,  having  in  view  the 
re-conquest  of  New  Mexico,  Captain  Nicolas  Ortiz 
Niiio  Ladron  de  Guevarra  brought  with  him  his  wife 
and  family.  His  wife  was  named  Maria  Ana  Garcia 
Coronado.  There  were  several  children,  of  whom  the 
eldest  was  also  Nicolas  Ortiz  Nino  Ladron  de  Gueverra. 
The  latter  married  Doiia  Juana  Baca,  and  of  the  mar- 
riage there  were  three  children,  Nicolas  Ortiz  Nino 
Ladron  de  Guevarra,  Third,  Fiancisco  and  Toribio 
Ortiz  Nino  Ladron  de  Guevarra.  The  eldest  married 
Dofia  Gertrudis  Paiz  Hurtado,  of  which  marriage  there 
were  two  children.  Juan  Antonio  and  Antonio  Jose. 
The  last  named  married  Dona  Rosa  de  Bustamente, 
the  daughter  of  Don  Pedro  de  Bustamente,  Governor 


MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  311 

of  the  Province  of  New  Mexico,  of  wliieh  union  there 
were  five  cliildren,  among  them  a  daughter,  Ana  Ger- 
trndis  Ortiz  Nino  Ladron  de  Guevarra,  who  became  the 
wife  of  Juan  Domingo  Baca.  There  were  twelve  chil- 
dren of  tliis  marriage,  one  of  whom,  xVna  Maria,  mar- 
ried Pedro  Bautista  Pino  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century. 

Don  Pedro  Bautista  Pino  was  probably  the  great- 
est statesman  ever  born  in  New  Mexico  under  Spanish 
rule.  He  was  the  only  representative  to  the  Spanish 
Cortes  ever  sent  from  New  Mexico.  He  went  to  Spain 
in  1810,  and  made  a  report  to  the  King,  written  at 
Cadiz,  November  12,  1811,  which  report  is,  for  all  pur- 
poses, a  history  of  New  Mexico  up  to  that  time.  In 
his  capacity  as  representative  in  the  Spanish  Cortes, 
he  accomplished  little,  and  after  his  return  to  New 
Mexico,  a  statement  of  his  services  abroad  was  embod- 
ied in  a  charming  couplet,  as  follows: 

"Don  Pedro  Pino  fue; 
Don  Pedro  Pino  vino." 

Don  Pedro  Bautista  Pino  was  the  father  of  Fa- 
cundo  IMno,  ]\Iiguel  E.  Pino  and  Nicolas  Pino,  each 
one  of  whom  was  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  New 
Mexico  at  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  Army  of  the 
West  under  General  Kearny. 

There  are  hundreds  of  descendants  of  Nicolas 
Ortiz  Niiio  Ladron  de  Guevarra  living  in  New  ^lexico 
to-day.  Some  of  these,  whose  names  will  appear  later 
in  this  narrative,  were  active  in  the  j)olitical  affairs  of 
New  ^lexico  at  the  time  of  the  American  conquest. 

The  Pinos  were  of  the  most  influential  residents 
of  the  Territory.  All  of  them,  time  and  again,  held 
important  positions,  either  by  election  or  appointment. 


312  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

under  the  Mexican  government.  They  were  all  of 
military  spirit  and  were  among  the  best  educated  men 
of  the  Territory.  Indian  campaigners,  every  one  of 
them,  each  with  a  record  of  courage  and  daring  un- 
surpassed by  any  of  the  great  Indian  fighters  of  that 
period. 

^Yhen  the  news  reached  Santa  F^  of  the  invasion 
of  Mexican  territory  by  the  American  army,  the  Pinos 
immediately  responded  to  the  call  issued  by  Governor 
Armijo  for  volunteers,  to  resist,  with  all  the  means  at 
their  disposal,  the  American  advance.  They  at  once 
began  raising  comi)anies  and  procuring  arms  and  am- 
munition. Meeting  at  Santa  Fe  with  Don  Tomas  Ortiz, 
Don  Diego  Archuleta,  the  Trujillos  from  Kio  Arriba, 
and  other  patriots,  they  gave  counsel  to  General  Ar- 
mijo and  helped  to  concentrate  the  Mexican  forces  at 
the  Apache  Pass.  Not  one  of  them  favored  the  aban- 
donment of  the  Mexican  position  in  the  Apache  Pass, 
and  each  viewed  with  manifest  disgust  the  action  of 
General  Armijo  in  sending  the  volunteers  to  their 
homes  and  his  own  flight  to  the  south.  When  the 
city  was  taken  by  Kearny,  not  one  of  the  Pinos  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  American  government, 
they,  with  others,  considering  themselves  still  citizens 
of  the  Mexican  re|>ublic,  loyal  to  its  interests,  although 
at  the  time  practically  under  the  control  of  the  United 
Slates. 

After  the  departure  of  General  Kearny  for  Cali- 
fornia and  Colonel  Doniphan  for  Chihuahua,  with 
their  commands,  and  some  time  after  the  coining  of 
General  Sterling  Price  with  the  Second  Missouri 
Mounted  Volunteers,  a  number  of  Mexican  ])atriots, 
unwilling,  without  an  etTective  blow,  to  see  their  coun- 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  313 

try  conquered,  never  consenting  to  follow  in  the  foot- 
steps of  otliers,  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  time, 
who  had  subscribed  their  allegiance  to  the  United 
States,  and  believing  that  the  overthrow  of  the  Ameri- 
can forces  was  possible,  began  to  hold  meetings  at 
which  were  discussed  several  plans  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  object. 

These  meetings  were  held  at  a  house  on  the  south 
side  of  the  public  plaza,  near  the  place  where  then 
was  located  the  military  church.  La  Castrenza. 

The  19th  of  December,  184G,  at  midnight,  was  the 
time  first  appointed  for  the  commencement  of  the  re- 
volt, which  was  to  be  simultaneous  all  over  the  de- 
partment. In  the  meantime  each  one  of  the  conspira- 
tors had  a  particular  part  of  the  Territory  assigned  to 
his  charge,  to  the  end  that  the  people  of  the  whole 
territory  might  be  enlisted.  Only  the  most  influential 
men,  those  whose  ambition  induced  them  to  seek  pre- 
ferment, were  to  be  made  acquainted  with  the  plan. 

Those  who  were  cognizant  of  this  plan  to  over- 
throw the  government,  as  has  been  ascertained  from 
statements  made  by  some  of  those  arrested  at  the  time, 
as  well  as  from  others  who  afterwards,  when  it  was 
plain  that  their  life  and  liberty  were  no  longer  at  stake, 
freely  made  known  the  names  of  those  who  were  thus 
engaged,  were  Don  Tomas  Ortiz,  Don  Diego  Archuleta, 
Don  Domingo  C.  De  Baca,  Don  Miguel  E.  Pino,  Don 
Nicolas  Pino,  Don  Manuel  Chaves,  Don  Santiago  Ar- 
mijo,  Don  Augustin  Duran,  Don  Pablo  Dominguez, 
Don  Jose  Maria  Sanches,  Don  Antonio  Maria  Trujillo, 
Don  Santiago  Martinez,  Don  Pascual  Martinez,  Don 
Vicente  Martinez,  Don  Antonio  Ortiz,  of  Arroyo  Seco, 
Don  Facundo  Pino,  Fr.  Antonio  Jose  Martinez,  Fr. 


314  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

Lcyba  and  the  Vicario,  Juan  Felipe  Ortiz.  All  of 
the  foregoing  were  related,  either  by  blood  or  mar- 
riage. The  Vicario,  Juan  Felipe  Ortiz,  and  Tomas 
Ortiz  were  brothers,  and  were  direct  descendants  of 
Captain  Francisco  Ortiz  Nino  Ladron  de  Guevarra. 
One  can  fairly  estimate  the  far-reaching  influence  of 
this  combination  of  patriots  when  it  is  known  that  the 
Vicario,  Ortiz,  was  at  the  head  of  the  Church,  next  to 
the  Bishop,  whose  seat  was  in  the  city  of  Durango. 
P^xercising  very  little  less  influence  was  the  Fr.  An- 
tonio Jose  Martinez,  of  Taos,  acknowledged  by  all  to 
have  been  one  of  the  strongest  men  intellectually  in 
the  priesthood  and  living  in  New  Mexico  at  that  time. 
The  American  military  officers,  as  well  as  the  civil 
officials,  were  never  able  to  prove  conclusively  that 
any  one  of  these  churchmen  was  actually  i)resent  and 
partici])ating  in  the  formation  of  the  i)lan  to  overthrow 
the  government,  but,  in  later  years,  Don  Diego  Archu- 
leta and  the  Pinos  did  not  hesitate  to  saj*  so. 

The  plan  fell  through,  however,  owing  to  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  it  having  been  communicated  to 
Donaciano  Vigil,  Secretary  of  the  Territory,  by  a 
woman  of  shady  rei)utation,  by  the  name  of  Tules 
liarcelona,  who  was  the  proprietress  of  one  of  the 
largest  gambling  houses  in  the  Capital,  and  who  was 
on  familiar  terms  with  one  of  the  principal  revolution- 
ists. Donaciano  Vigil  immediately  made  known  to 
(Jeneral  Price  what  had  been  told  him,  and  a  number 
f)f  arrests  l)y  Price's  officers  immediately  followed. 
Among  those  aricsted  was  Don  Nicolas  Pino.  Don 
Jose  ^faria  Sanches  and  Don  Augustin  Duran  were 
also  among  those  apprelH'iided.  Ortiz,  Baca  and  .\r- 
fhuleta  made  good  their  escajie. 


OF    THE    TERIIITOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  315 

When  brought  before  General  Price  and  his  offi- 
cers, in  the  main  room  of  the  Old  Palace,  Don  Jose 
Maria  Sanches  made  confession  of  his  part  in  the 
conspirac}-  and  told  of  the  meetings  and  the  action 
taken.  He  said  :  "Don  Diego  Arclmleta  was  the  leader 
at  the  meetings  and  made  the  motion  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  a  governor  and  a  commanding  general.  He 
nominated  Tomas  Ortiz  for  the  first  office  and  himself 
for  the  second.  This  motion  was  carried  and  was 
signed  by  every  one  present." 

This  writing  was  hid  above  the  ceiling  in  the 
house  of  the  mother  of  one  of  the  Pinos.  At  the  meet- 
ing the  entire  plan  of  assault  was  determined  upon 
and  the  19th  of  December  fixed  as  the  day.  After- 
wards, owing  to  the  fact  that  a  sufficient  number  out- 
side of  the  city  of  Santa  F6  had  not  been  fully  notified, 
the  day  for  the  uprising  was  postponed  until  Christ- 
mas eve. 

The  manner  in  which  Tomas  Ortiz  made  his  escape 
from  Santa  F6,  after  the  conspiracy  had  been  detected, 
is  told  by  close  relatives. 

Don  Clemente  Ortiz,  now  living  in  Santa  Fe  (1909), 
seventy-eight  years  of  age,  says:  ''I  am  a  first  cousin 
of  Tomas  Ortiz,  the  leader  of  the  revolution  of  1846. 
]\Iany  times  I  heard  from  him  the  story  of  the  revolu- 
tion. I  also  heard  it  from  Don  Miguel  E.  Pino.  One 
day  in  December,  181G,  Don  Donaciano  Vigil  called  to 
Don  Augustin  Duran,  who  was  passing  along  the  portal 
of  the  Old  Palace,  and  said  to  him,  'What  is  the  news?' 
'I  know  nothing,'  said  Duran.  'Yes,  you  do,'  replied 
Vigil.  'There  is  a  conspiracy  being  organized  against 
the  Americans.  A  meeting  was  held  last  night  by 
the  leaders  at  the  house  of  ^Manuel  Pino.     I  know  all 


'Sm  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

about  it.  Anothor  will  be  held  to-night  at  La  Cas- 
trenza  (Military  (  hapel).  It  is  intended  to  start  a 
revolt  against  the  Americans  and  to  capture  all  the 
officers  from  the  commanding  general  down.  Emis- 
saries have  been  sent  out  to  all  the  nearest  points  de- 
manding that  the  people  come  to  Santa  F^  and  take 
part  in  the  uprising.  The  night  of  the  24th  of  Decem- 
ber is  the  time  when  it  will  happen.  The  people  will 
all  be  advised  that  when  the  third  bell  rings  for  the 
midnight  mass  (Misa  del  Gallo)  the  men  will  leave  the 
chapel  and  arm  for  the  outbreak." 

Duran  and  others  were  arrested  by  the  military 
the  same  day  and  Duran  also  confessed  at  the  hearing 
before  the  military  officers. 

General  Price  stationed  his  soldiers  all  over  town 
and  at  the  home  of  every  one  of  the  known  revolu- 
tionists. 

''One  evening  about  dark,  I  told  my  father,  An- 
tonio Matias  Ortiz,  that  soldiers  were  guarding  our 
house.  My  father  commanded  the  servants  to  lock  the 
doors  and  fasten  the  windows.  In  the  morning  I  heard 
some  one  calling  at  the  door  and  went  out  to  see  who 
it  was.  A  soldier  asked  me,  'Is  Mr.  Ortiz  here?'  and  I 
answered  'Yes.'  I  then  went  into  the  house  and  told 
my  father  that  the  soldiers  wanted  him.  My  father 
jiut  on  hi.s  hat  and  cloak  and  went  out,  when  the 
soldiers  ordei'ed  him  to  inarch  to  headquarters.  He 
was  tak«'n  to  the  headquarters  of  General  Price,  which 
were  located  right  where  the  new  parochial  school  is 
situate  in  Santa  Fe  at  this  time.  As  the  soldiers 
ai)proached  the  headquarters,  they  met  Captain  Ang- 
ney,  an  officer  under  General  Price,  who  recognizing 
Don  Antonio  Matias  Ortiz,  told  them  to  release  him. 


OF    TlIK    TEKIllTORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  317 

as  ho  was  not  the  Ortiz  they  wanted.  This  same 
Captain  Angney  afterwards  married  Isabel  Conklin.  a 
sister-in-law  of  Cleniente  Ortiz  and  a  daughter  of  Don 
Santiago  Conklin,  a  prominent  resident  of  Santa  F6 
at  that  time.  Captain  Angney  had  his  own  headquar- 
ters at  the  house  of  Francisco  Baca  y  Ferrus.  His 
home  quarters  were  at  the  home  of  Domingo  C.  De 
Baca,  one  of  the  conspirators;  this  building  is  the  one 
now  owned  by  and  in  which  lives  Eugene  A.  Fiske 
and  is  just  west  of  the  residence  of  the  Vicar-General. 
''The  Vicario,  Juan  Felipe  Ortiz,  many  times  asked 
my  father,  Antonio  Matias  Ortiz,  to  join  the  conspir- 
acy, but  he  refused  to  do  so.  Don  Miguel  E.  Pino 
also  told  me,  at  the  time  I  was  serving  as  a  volunteer 
at  the  government  post  at  Galisteo,  in  185G  and  1857, 
at  the  home  of  Don  Nicolas  Pino,  that  the  plan  of  the 
conspirac}',  as  drafted  and  signed  by  all  the  conspira- 
tors, was  taken  by  Don  Miguel  E.  Pino  and  hidden  at 
the  house  of  his  mother.  Dona  Ana  Maria  Baca,  who 
was  the  wife  of  Don  Pedro  Bautista  Pino.  It  w^as 
hidden  in  the  ceiling.  It  was  never  found.  As  to 
the  manner  of  the  escape  of  his  cousin,  Tomas  Ortiz, 
Don  Clemente  says  that  after  Don  Tomas  arrived  at 
(^alisteo.  from  Santa  F(?.  he  rode  by  way  of  the  Es- 
tancia  valley  through  Manzano  and  Abo,  across  the 
Gallinas  mountains  to  tlie  junction  of  the  Rio  Bonito 
and  Ruidoso.  at  or  near  the  present  site  of  Ft.  Stanton, 
thence  to  the  ford  of  the  Rio  Grande,  known  as  the 
Ponce  de  Leon  ford,  and  thence  to  Chihuahua. 

Dofia  Isabel  Cabeza  de  Baca,  widow  of  Don  Jose 
D.  Sena,  in  her  life  time,  in  discussing  the  facts  rela- 
tive to  the  conspiracy  of  December,  184G,  told  of  the 
escape  of  Tomas  Ortiz  from  Santa  F^.    Mrs.  Sena  was 


318  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

the  daiifihter  of  Domingo  C.  de  Baca,  one  of  the  con- 
spirators, and  her  mother  was  Josefa  Ortiz,  a  sister 
of  Don  Tomas  Ortiz,  the  leader  of  the  conspiracy. 

Mrs.  Sena  says  that  the  soldiers  came  to  the  house 
of  the  Vicario,  Juan  Felipe  Ortiz,  looking  for  his 
brother,  Don  Tomas.  They  decided  to  make  a  search 
of  the  store-room  (dispensa),  where  they  believed 
Tomas  was  hiding;  when  they  entered  the  room  the 
women  all  fled  except  Ana  Maria  Ortiz,  who  was  watch 
ing  some  toast  (costales  de  biscocho)  ;  in  this  store- 
room there  was  also  a  large  supply  of  provisions,  which 
that  night  was  sent  to  Galisteo  on  pack  mules,  await- 
ing the  coming  of  Don  Tomas.  Ana  Maria  Ortiz  was 
the  wife  of  Eugenio  Archuleta,  a  brother  of  Don  Diego 
Archuleta.  During  the  time  that  the  soldiers  were 
thus  searching  the  house,  Don  Tomas  was  hiding  on  a 
balcony  facing  the  garden  of  the  Vicar-General.  When 
the  soldiers  left,  he  was  taken  from  the  balcony  and 
dressed  in  the  garb  of  a  servant  girl,  and  from  his 
place  on  the  balcony  was  lifted  with  ropes  to  the  roof 
of  the  chapel  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  cathedral; 
he  was  then  lowered  into  the  garden  and  taken  by 
Pedro  Trujillo  to  the  house  of  his  mistress,  a  woman 
named  I'eregrina,  who  lived  on  the  Arroyo  Sais,  above 
where  the  arroyo  crosses  Palace  Avenue  in  Santa  Fd. 
Trujillo  carried  Tomas  Ortiz  on  his  back  and  passed 
over  a  trail  leading  to  the  rear  of  where  is  now  locat<'d 
St.  Vincent's  sanitorium.  On  the  way  to  the  arroyo 
where  Dona  Peregrina  lived,  Trujillo  was  met  by  a 
squad  of  soldiers,  who  asked  him  whom  he  was  carry 
ing,  and  he  told  them  it  was  his  daughter,  who  was 
very  si<k.  They  finally  reached  the  house  of  Dona 
peregrina. 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    -MEXICO.  319 

Meanwhile  preparations  had  been  made  for  two 
horses,  the  fleetest  of  any  in  Santa  F6;  these  were 
stationed  on  the  bank  of  the  Santa  Fo  river,  about  two 
hundred  yards  from  the  house  of  Peregrina;  after 
taking  Ortiz  to  the  liouse,  Trujillo  went  to  tlie  river, 
where  the  horses  had  been  brought.  Shortly  Ortiz 
came  out,  dressed  as  a  servant  girl  and  carrying  a 
tinaja  (water  jar)  on  his  head,  evidenth'  going  to  the 
river  for  water.  As  he  was  proceeding  down  the  ar- 
royo  he  was  met  by  some  soldiers  on  foot,  who  asked 
if  "she''  knew  where  lived  a  woman  named  Peregrina, 
and  if  so,  whether  Tomas  Ortiz  was  at  her  house. 
Ortiz  replied  "yes,"  and  pointing  out  the  house,  said, 
"Ortiz  is  there  in  the  kitchen  now\"  The  soldiers  then 
proceeded  to  the  house,  and  Ortiz,  picking  up  his 
skirts  and  throwing  them  over  his  shoulder,  ran  down 
the  arroyo  toward  the  river.  As  he  did  so,  two  Mexi- 
can women,  standing  near  a  small  adobe  house, 
shouted  to  the  soldiers,  ''Haya  va  Tomas  Ortiz,  Gringos 
pendejos !"  Ortiz  reached  the  river,  where  with  his 
friend,  Trujillo,  he  mounted  his  horse  and  was  soon 
lost  to  sight  on  his  way  to  Galisteo,  where  he  joined 
with  Don  Francisco  Ortiz  y  Tafoya,  who  had  been 
sent  to  Galisteo  by  the  Vicario  with  fresh  horses, 
money  and  provisions  for  his  flight  to  Chihuahua. 

Don  Miguel  E.  Pino  and  Don  Nicolas  Pino  did  not 
take  any  part  in  the  revolutionary  movement  after- 
wards. They  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  outbreak  at 
Taos,  and  Don  Xicolas,  after  he  was  released  from 
prison  in  Santa  F6,  having  been  arrested  while  sitting 
in  front  of  the  old  Exchange  hotel,  took  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  United  States  and.  when  the  news 
of  the  death  of  Governor  Bent  reached  Santa  F6,  en- 


320  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

listed  in  Ca])taiii  St.  Vrain's  company  of  volunteers, 
and,  with  his  friend,  Don  Manuel  Chaves,  went  to 
Taos  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  attack  upon  and 
defeat  of  the  insur<?ents  at  that  place. 

After  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Mexico,  Don  Nico- 
las Pino  and  his  brothers  were  among  the  most  loyal 
of  the  citizens  of  New  Mexico  to  their  ado]»ted  gov- 
ernment. All  of  the  brothers  held  many  positions  of 
trust  under  American  rule,  both  military  and  civil. 
Don  Miguel  and  Don  Nicolas  were  both  oflHcers  and 
in  command  of  substantial  bodies  of  volunteers  during 
the  war  of  the  rebellion.  Until  their  death  there  was 
no  session  of  the  legislative  assembly  but  what  some 
one  of  the  IMnos  was  a  member,  either  of  the  house 
or  council.  Don  Facundo  Pino  was  president  of  the 
council  several  times.  He  was  president  of  the  legis- 
lative council  in  18G1,  at  the  time  of  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war.  Don  Diego  Archuleta  was  ]>resident  of  the 
same  body  during  the  war,  the  sessions  being  the 
Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth.  Don  Miguel  E.  Pino  was 
president  of  the  council  in  1805,  and  after  the  war  was 
over,  and  again  in  1800,  Don  Nicolas  Pino  was  presi- 
dent of  the  council  in  18(10.  and  was  a  member  of  that 
body  in  1873  and  in  1878. 

The  first  legislative  assembly  of  the  Territory  of 
New  Mexico  convened  at  Santa  Fe  on  the  second  day 
of  June  and  again  on  the  first  day  of  December,  1851. 
The  president  of  the  council  at  the  first  session  was 
Fr.  Antonio  Jose  Martinez,  and  of  the  second  session, 
Juan  Felipe  Orliz.  JJoth  of  these  very  distinguished 
New  Mexi<ans,  who  only  four  short  years  before  had 
sought  the  overthrow  of  the  American  power,  were 
now    among    its    most    loyal    supporters.     Don    Juan 


OP    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  321 

Felipe  Ortiz  was  the  i)resident  of  tlie  council  of  the 
second  legislative  assembly,  and  his  brother  and  co- 
conspirator, Tomas  Ortiz,  was  clerk  of  that  body.  In 
1853,  Tomas  Ortiz  was  elected  a  member  of  the  legis- 
lative council  from  Santa  F^  county  and  served  with 
distinction. 

Don  Nicolas  Pino  survived  all  his  brothers.  He 
died  in  November,  189G,  and  is  buried  in  the  village 
cemetery  at  Galisteo.  All  of  the  Pinos  were  of  noble 
mold.  They  w^ere  of  a  brave  and  chivalrous  class. 
They  fought  the  battles  of  frontier  days  and  lived  to 
see  the  changes  which  American  progress  and  civiliza- 
tion have  wrought.  Don  Nicolas  was  in  his  77th  year 
when  he  passed  away.  He  was  a  man  of  large  means. 
He  was  charitable  and  kind,  as  he  was  gallant  and 
brave. 

"How  sleep  the  brave,  who  sink  to  rest. 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest! 
When  Spring,  with  dewy  fingers  cold, 
Returns  to  deck  their  hallow^ed  mold, 
She  there  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod 
Than  Fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod. 
By  fairy  hands  their  knell  is  rung, 
By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung. 
There  honor  comes,  a  pilgrim  grey. 
To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay. 
And  Freedom  shall  awhile  repair 
To  dwell,  a  weeping  hermit,  there." 


David  Waldo, 
''roiil  !i   I'liMld^nipli  ill  111.'  I'l.sscssl.iii  of  His  HiiuKliliT,  Mrs.  l.iiln   Wiililo  Sloiill. 


DAVID   WALDO. 

David  Waldo  was  the  Captain  of  '^A"  Company 
of  the  First  Missonri  ;^^ounted  Volunteers.  The  com- 
pany was  organized  at  Independence,  Mo.,  and 
marched  from  that  ])lac«^  to  Fort  Leavenworth,  arriv- 
inj;-  on  the  ()th  day  of  June,  184C,  where  it  was  mus- 
tered into  servic<'  for  one  year  on  that  day.  The  com- 
pany participated  in  all  the  events  of  the  march  to 
Santa  Fe  and  Chihuahua,  and  was  mustered  for  dis- 
charge at  Xew  Orleans.  La.,  on  June  22,  1847. 

The  Lieutenants  w(n"e:  First,  John  Keid;  second, 
David  I.  Clayton  and  Henry  I.  Chiles.  John  S.  Webb 
was  First  Sergeant. 

Captain  Waldo  was  the  son  of  Jedediah  and  Polly 
(Porter)  Waldo,  and  was  born  at  Clarksburg,  Virginia, 
April  30,  1802.  In  his  early  youth  he  was  engaged  in 
rafting  logs  down  the  Ohio  river.  lie  came  to  Mis- 
souri in  the  year  1826,  and  went  into  the  logging  bus- 
iness on  the  Gasconade,  floating  the  logs  into  the  Mis- 
souri, thence  to  St.  Louis.  The  revenue  from  this  bus- 
iness sufficed  to  carry  him  through  a  complete  medi- 
cal course  at  Transylvania  University,  Lexington,  Ky. 
After  receiving  his  degree  in  medicine,  he  returned  to 
the  Gasconade  country,  where  he  lived  for  a  short 
time,  moving  later  to  Osceola,  in  St.  Clair  county,  and 
afterwards  to  Independence,  Jackson  county,  INIis- 
souri. 

He  did  not  long  continue  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  and  soon  after  coming  to  Inde[)endence  be- 
gan trading  over  the  Santa  F6  Trail,  and  was  engaged 
in  mercantile  business  in  Chihuahua  and  Taos,  ^lexico, 


324  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

as  early  as  1831.  At  the  conmienoenient  of  hostilities 
with  Mexico,  (,'aptain  Waldo  had  already  amassed 
a  large  fortune  in  business.  For  sixteen  years  he  bad 
again  and  again  traversed  the  old  Trail,  and  knew  all 
the  i)eo})le  of  New  Mexico  of  consequence,  socially  and 
in  a  business  way.  To  him  was  largely  due  the  ap- 
pointment of  Charles  Bent  as  governor  of  New  Mex- 
ico by  Oeneral  Kearny.  It  is  well  known  that  Gen- 
eral Kearney  consulted  Captain  Waldo  in  the  making 
of  all  the  civil  appointments,  prior  to  his  dei)arture 
for  California.  Captain  Waldo  was  a  master  of  the 
Spanish  language,  and  of  most  pronounced  scholarly 
attainments.  He  was  essentially  a  man  of  affairs,  and. 
of  all  the  officers  under  Kearnj-  and  Doniphan,  was 
best  acquainted  with  the  citizens  of  New  Mexico.  Old 
diaries  and  records  show  him  to  have  been  identified 
with  the  business  life  of  the  Territory  for  years  prior 
to,  as  well  as  after,  the  conquest.  He  assisted  in  the 
preparation  of  the  code  of  laws  promulgated  by  Gen- 
eral Kearny  and  translated  the  code  into  the  Spanish 
language.  Whenever  any  papers  or  documents  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Doniphan,  they  were  always  given 
to  Captain  Waldo  for  translation.  He  was  a  great 
friend  of  William  Gilpin,  the  major  of  Doniphan's 
regiment.  It  was  Captain  Waldo  who,  in  1843,  loaned 
Gilpin  a  part  of  the  money  necessary  for  his  expenses, 
when  Gilpin  started  overland  and  alone  on  an  expe- 
dition from  Independence.  Mo.,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  river.  Captain  Waldo  accompanied  him  as 
far  on  the  trail  as  Lone  Elm.  where  Gilpin  f(Ml  in 
with  the  party  under  John  C.  Fremont. 

During   the   inaidi    io   Santa    Fe   and    Chihuahua 
Captain  Waldo  remained  the  steadfast  friend  of  Gil- 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  325 

pin,  and  did  his  ntmost  to  secure  his  election  as  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  of  the  regiment,  upon  the  resignation 
of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Ruff.  The  latter  was  a  West 
Pointer  and  was  not  popular  with  the  men.  Gilpin 
was  also  a  graduate  of  the  military  academy,  and 
largely  on  this  account  was  defeated  in  the  election. 

After  Kearny's  comnmnd  had  heen  at  Santa  Fe 
about  a  month,  Captain  Waldo  and  Captain  Stephen- 
son, with  their  companies,  under  command  of  Major 
Gilpin,  were  dispatched  to  the  town  of  Abiquiu,  on 
the  Chama  river,  for  the  })urpose  of  keeping  the  In- 
dians in  check  in  that  part  of  the  Territory.  Abiquiu, 
for  many  years,  had  been  an  outpost  against  the 
Apache  and  Ute  Indians.  Later  on  Captain  Waldo 
and  his  troop  took  part  in  the  campaign  against  the 
Navajos,  resulting  in  a  treaty  of  peace  with  that  pow- 
erful tribe. 

Shortly  before  the  battle  of  Brazito  Captain  Wal- 
do was  severely  injured  by  a  fall  from  his  horse,  but 
this  did  not  prevent  his  active  participation  in  the 
battle  on  Christmas  da}-. 

Shortly  after  Doniphan's  command  reached  El 
Paso,  a  proclamation  by  Don  Angel  Trias,  governor 
of  Chihuahua,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans 
and  was  translated  by  Captain  Waldo,  as  follows : 

"S-oldiers:  The  sacrilegious  invaders  of  Mexico 
are  approaching  the  city  of  El  Paso,  an  important 
part  of  the  state,  where  the  enemj-  intend  establish- 
ing their  winter  quarters,  and  even  pretend  that  they 
will  advance  further  into  our  territory.  It  is  entirely 
necessary  that  you  go;  you,  defenders  of  the  honor 
and  glory  of  the  Republic;  that  you  give  a  lesson  to 
these  pirates. 


32(1  Tin:    -MILITAUY    OCCUI'ATION 

•'The  state  calculated  iimcli  upon  the  aid  that 
\v»»uM  be  jfiveii  l»y  the  valiant  and  wai-woin  citizens 
of  the  Pass,  but  treason  has  sown  there  distrust  and 
the  jtatriotic  jieoplc.  bv  dis«;raceful  mutiny,  retreated 
at  thirty  leajiues  distanc<'  from  a  snmll  force  under 
the  command  of  (General  Keainy.  wlien  they  mijjlit 
have  taken  him  and  his  foi-ce  jirisoners  at  discretion. 
Subordination  and  discipline  were  wantinj;. 

*'You  <;o  to  re-establisli  the  diaracter  of  those 
Mexicans,  and  to  chastise  tiu^  enemy,  if  he  sliould  dare 
to  touch  the  soil  of  the  state;  the  state  ennobled  by 
the  blood  of  the  fathers  of  our  independence.  I  con- 
fide in  your  courajje.  and,  alone.  I  recommend  to  you 
o])edien<-e  to  your  commanders  and  the  most  j)erfect 
discii)line. 

••All  Chihuahua  burns  with  the  desire  to  go  with 
you,  because  they  aic  all  Mexicans,  p<>ssessed  of  tlie 
warmest  <'nthnsiasui  and  the  jturest  ]»ati'iotism.  They 
will  march  to  join  you  at  the  first  signal;  the  <-ircum- 
stances  of  the  war  demand  re-enforcements;  they  shall 
be  forwarded,  let  it  cost  the  state  what  it  may.  To 
tlM*  jK'oplc  of  Chihuahua  no  sacrifice  is  reckoned  when 
the  hf>nor  of  the  Ke])ublic  is  at   stak<'. 

•'The  enthusiasm  with  which  you  march,  and  the 
sanctity  of  your  noble  cause  are  sure  evidences  of  vic- 
tory. Yes,  you  are  led  by  the  God  of  Battles,  and 
your  brows  shall  be  cj-owned  witli  laurels.  Thus  trust 
your  fri<*nd  and  comjtanion. 

"AN(;KL  TRIAS. 

•'Chihuahua.  November  0.  1840." 

At  the  battle  of  Sacramento,  on  Felnuary  2S, 
1S47.  Captain  \\'aIdo.  at  the  Iiead  of  his  troop,  dis- 
mounted, stormed  a  most  formidable  line  of  redoubts 


OF    TlIK    TERHITOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  327 

on  tlie  eiu'iiiv's  left,  dcfViulod  by  several  pieces  of 
cannon  and  a  ^reat  nnnd)ei"  of  resolute  and  well -armed 
men.  It  was  Cai)tain  Waldo's  command  that  took 
possession  of  the  batlerv  on  Sacramento  Hill,  whicli 
had  been  kee])in<;-  up  a  cross-fire  on  the  American 
right  during  the  entire  engagement.  The  fact  that  tlie 
Mexican  batteries  were  compelled  to  lire  plungingly 
upon  the  American  advance  accounts  for  the  small 
damage  inflicted  upon  the  storming  parties.  Tliis  was 
particularly  true  of  the  Mexican  battery  placed  on  the 
brow  of  the  hill. 

Wlien  tlie  force  under  Doni})han  began  making 
preparations  for  the  evacuation  of  the  city  of  Chi- 
huahua the  American  merchants  who  had  been  en- 
gaged in  business  in  that  city  were  alarmed  for  fear 
the  departure  of  the  American  army  would  leave  them 
and  their  ]>roperty  entirely  without  protection.  Just 
what  arrangenu^nts  were  made  by  Doniphan  looking 
to  the  safeguard  of  Ameiican  interests  in  Chihuahua 
are  related  in  a  lettei-  from  Colonel  Doniphan  to  Cap- 
tain A\'aldo.  after  tlu'  retuiii  of  the  regiment  to  Mis- 
soui-i.     The  letter  is  as  follows: 

"Liberty  10  Jan  48 
"Capt  D.  Waldo 

''Dr.  Sir. 

"1  anticijiated  being  in  your  town  to-day  and 
therefore  did  not  answer  your  favors  as  I  knew  it 
would  be  more  satisfactorily  and  fully  done  verbally. 
In  relation  to  the  treaty  or  agreement  made  by  the 
merchants  of  Chihuahua  with  the  Governuu^nt  of  that 
state  I  can  only  speak  from  memory — the  agreement 
had  not  been  consumnuited  when  I  left  the  City — 
(Felix   Mesceira  not  having  returned)  who   had   gone 


328  thf;  military  occupation 

as  agont  for  thorn  to  the  temporal  state  Government. 
I  iivfit  proposed  to  make  a  treaty  for  the  mercliants 
with  the  authorities  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Conelly. 
McManus,  Glasgows  &c  &  Dr.  Conelly  went  to  Parral 
&  commissioners  came  up  with  him  but  the  merchants 
by  that  time  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  a  tre- 
mendous meeting  &  sundry  resolutions  would  force 
me  to  stay  there  as  long  there  was  a  shirt-tail  full  of 
goods  in  the  City — when  Collin.s  came  back  from  Genl. 
Tajior  and  they  found  I  was  ordered  south  they  then 
began  to  relent  &  were  solely  grieved  that  they  had 
objected  to  my  making  a  treaty  for  them.  They  then 
desired  me  to  do  so — I  refused  but  told  them  they 
might  stipulate  for  their  safet}'  by  making  my  imme- 
diate withdrawal  with  our  forces  from  the  State  of 
Chihuahua  &  the  payment  of  New  Mexican  duties  the 
basis  of  the  treaty  on  the  American  side.  I  gave  Dr. 
Conelly  a  written  statement  &  directed  him  to  send 
it  by  Mesceira  to  the  state  authorities  in  which  I 
.stated  that  if  a  treaty  was  made  that  I  would  leave 
with  our  forces  in  a  few  day.s — that  I  would  use  my 
intluence  to  ju'evcnt  Genl,  Wool  or  any  detachment 
of  liis  army  from  marching  on  Chihuahua — and  the 
Mexicans  having  heard  that  some  reinforcements  were 
coming  from  New  Mexico  I  was  to  leave  a  written 
order  with  Dr.  Conelly  directing  such  force  not  to 
occuj)y  Chihuahua  but  to  i)ass  through  as  speedily  as 
convenient.  This  I  think  was  the  whole  of  it — Dr. 
Conelly  iiromise<l  if  Mesceira  returned  he  would  send 
the  agreenu'iit  to  me  for  my  ai>proval — they  never  did 
so  &  I  do  not  know  what  it  was — further  than  my 
own    guaranty. 


OP    THE    TEKUITOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  329 

"I  regret  that  the  Govt  has  been  so  simple  as 
to  send  any  troops  there — surely  no  good  &  much  harm 
may  come  of  it  &  if  I  had  known  of  such  intention 
in  time  I  would  have  protested  against  it. 

"I  regret  to  learn  that  Gilpin's  Battalion  has 
made  so  bad  a  beginning — I  am  gratified  that  he  was 
absent  &  that  no  blame  can  attach  to  him — I  hope 
they  may  have  a  better  end — but  there  is  little  to 
hope  from  the  Dutch  in  that  sort  of  service. 

^'I  send  you  a  discharge  for  W.  P.  Johnson  it  is 
not  very  full — I  thought  it  best  to  write  it  on  the 
same  paper  with  Genl.  Kearny's  &  it  would  be  all 
the  better  explained  as  I  presume  his  object  is  his 
pay  perquisites  &  land  scrip,  all  of  which  he  will  get. 
*'Yrs  respectfully, 

"(Signed)     A.  W.  DONIPHAN." 

Captain  ^^'aldo  was  a  man  of  sturdy  character. 
In  his  business  relations  he  was  very  exact.  Of  all 
the  distinguished  men  in  Colonel  Doniphan's  com- 
mand, none  suffered  a  severer  personal  loss,  growing 
out  of  the  events  of  the  American  Occupation  of  New 
Mexico  than  did  Captain  Waldo.  For  more  than  fif- 
teen years  prior  to  the  coming  of  the  Army  of  the 
West,  had  been  associated  with  him,  as  well  also  in 
trading  for  himself,  a  younger  brother,  Lawrence  L. 
Waldo,  the  father  of  Henry  L.  Waldo,  of  Las  Vegas, 
New  Mexico.  The  younger  Waldo  was  of  most  ex- 
emplary habits,  kind  and  courteous,  the  gentleman  in 
all  his  social  and  business  life,  really  loved  by  all 
who  knew  him.  His  friendship  for  the  Mexicans  and 
Indians  was  marked,  and,  like  Governor  Bent,  he  had 
every  confidence  in  their  loyalty  to  and  personal  re- 
gard  for   himself.     Of  the   Americans   remaining   at 


'S'M)  TIUO    MILITARY    OCCUl'ATIOX 

\ 

Santa  F«'  after  the  departure  of  Doniphan  for  Chi- 
liuahua,  tliere  was  no  sinj^le  individual  who  better 
understood  the  Mexican  charaetei-.  oi*  was  in  better 
position  to  ascertain  tlie  true  s<'ntinient  of  tlie  Mexi- 
can ])eople  toward  the  American  <jovernnient.  He 
was  well  aware  of  the  discontent  that  ])revailed 
ainon<::  the  ambitious  h'aders,  who  were  convinced 
that  (leneral  Armijo  had  been  recreant  to  his  trust, 
as  the  executive  and  commandin};  fj;eneral  of  the  Ter- 
ritorv.  in  not  <'ivin<;'  the  American  army  battle  at  tlie 
A])aclie  I'ass.  The  discovery  of  the  conspirary  of  De- 
cember, 184t».  and  the  Hi^ht  of  the  known  lea(h*rs  from 
the  ca])ital  seemed  to  have  lulled  the  ofticei-s  of  tlie 
army  into  a  feelinji'  of  security,  but.  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  discov<'ry  and  arrest  of  a  number  of  those 
most  ]H'ominently  identified  with  the  attem]>t  to  over 
throw  the  <i;ovei-nnient  only  served  to  whet  the  desire 
of  the  jieople  for  soiue  sort  of  ]ir(>test  ajjainst  the 
manner  in  which  the  conquest  had  been  achieved. 

Leavin;^  Santa  Fi\  in  company  with  some  other 
prominent  traders,  on  his  way  to  Independence,  all 
uiiawar<'  that  the  revolution  had  actually  broken  out. 
feelin<i;  secure  personally  on  account  of  his  many 
years'  association  with  the  M<'xican  peojde,  just  as 
his  caiavan  was  a])pi'oachin<;  the  town  of  Mora,  on 
the  l!Mh  day  of  .lanuary.  1847.  he  was  shot  from  am- 
bush and  instantly  killed. 

Six  days  prior  to  his  death,  in  a  letter  written 
from  Santa  F<'*  to  Captain  Waldo,  then  with  his  com- 
mand at  El  Paso,  awaitiii};  the  cominj^  of  artillery, 
from  Santa  Fe  to  accom|»any  the  march  on  Cliihua- 
hua.  he  said:  "It  s<'ems  that  a  •general  mistake  has 
been  made  by  all  that  were  afHjuainted  with  the  (jrntr 


Ot^    THE    TEUItlTOUY    OF    XKW     MEXICO.  831 

of  this  Territory  in  regard  to  their  willingness  to  be 
subject  to  the  rnle  of  the  United  States.  It  is  satis- 
factoi-ily  ascertained  that  not  one  in  ten  is  (uju^to, 
and,  as  far  as  I  can  jndge,  and  I  am  well  acquainted 
with  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountains,  not  one  in 
one  hundred  is  content."  His  estimate  was  only  too 
true.  P]ven  those  who  had  taken  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance at  Las  Vegas  joined  the  ranks  of  the  insur- 
gents. 

On  the  first  of  February  his  death  was  avenged 
by  Captain  Morin  and  his  men,  in  the  complete  dem- 
olition of  the  town  of  Mora.  The  insurgents  fled  to 
the  neighboring  mountains.  Their  loss  was  twenty- 
five  killed  and  seventeen  taken  ])risoners.  The 
bodies  of  the  Americans  who  had  been  assassinated 
were  taken  to  Las  ^'egas  and  interred  in  the  cemetery 
west  of  the  old  town  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Gal- 
linas  river.  Captain  Waldo  did  not  receive  news  of 
the  death  of  his  brother  until  the  IGth  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, when  he  was  en  route  to  Chihuahua,  just 
twelve  days  before  the  battle  of  Sacramento. 

A  newspaper,  the  Reveille,  published  in  ^lissouri 
at  the  time,  gives  the  following  account  of  the  mas- 
sacre of  Grovernor  Bent  and  others  in  the  revolution 
at  Taos  and  Mora: 

''^Ir.  Thomas  Caldwell,  whose  arrival  at  Inde- 
pendence was  noticed  yesterday,  came  down  last  even- 
ing on  the  steamer  Bertrand,  and  to  him  we  ai'e  in- 
debted for  later  and  more  authentic  information  from 
Santa  ¥6.  The  accounts  j)ublislied  yesterday,  as  coj)- 
ied  from  the  Expositor  extra,  we  ai'e  requested  to 
state,  are  in  many  particulars  incorrect,  and  were  not 


332  TIIK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

obtained  from  Mr.  C,  but  merely  from  rumor  at  In- 
dependence after  his  arrival. 

"Mr.  C,  as  stated  yesterday,  left  El  Paso  on  the 
12th  of  January,  and  Santa  F6  on  the  3d  of  February. 
The  massacre  of  Governor  Jjent,  the  Lees  and  others 
was  perpetrated  at  Taos  on  the  18th  of  January,  and 
immediately  runners  were  sent  out  by  the  Mexicans 
to  the  ditterent  towns  in  the  province,  calling  upon 
the  inhabitants  to  assist  in  the  murder  of  the  Amer- 
icans. On  the  19th,  the  night  after  the  murder  of 
Bent  and  his  companions,  at  Taos,  Mr,  Romulus  Cul- 
ver, of  Clinton  county;  L.  L,  Waldo,  a  brother  of  the 
Doctor,  and  Benjamin  Pruett,  of  Jackson  count}',  to- 
gether with  tive  others,  were  killed  at  Mora,  a  town 
of  some  2,000  inhabitants,  and  situated  seventy-five 
miles  from  Santa  Fe.  After  this  outrage  the  insur- 
gents, to  the  number  of  2,000,  collected  at  a  small 
town  called  La  Canada,  some  twenty-five  miles  from 
Santa  F^'.  Col.  Price,  hearing  of  this,  immediately 
went  in  person,  at  the  head  of  350  men,  and  drove 
them  from  their  position,  killing  thirty-six  of  their 
number. 

"This  engagement  occurred  between  the  20th  and 
2Sth  of  January,  and  was  followed  by  another  be- 
tween I'rice  and  the  insurgents,  at  Fnibudo,  a  small 
town  in  the  pass  of  the  mountains.  It  was  under- 
stood that  Price  had  again  succeeded  in  driving  them 
before  him,  but  their  loss  in  this  latter  engagement 
was  not  known.  About  the  time  of  the  battles  be- 
tween Col.  Price  and  the  insurgents  at  La  Canada 
and  ?]mbudo,  Cajitain  Ilendly,  of  the  Kay  county  vol- 
unteers, who  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains, 
in  charge  of  a  party  of  gra/-iers,  hearing  of  the  mas- 


OF    THE    TKURITOItY    OF    XKW    .MEXICO.  333 

sacre  at  Taos  and  Mora,  immediately  repaired  with 
about  1)0  men  to  tlie  latter  j)lace,  where  he  met  willi 
a  lar<;e  body  of  the  enemy,  and  an  engagement  en- 
sued, in  which  Capt.  II.  lost  his  life.  After  his  fall, 
his  men.  under  command  of  their  Lieutenant,  fell  back 
on  \'egas,  and  rejiorted  to  Santa  F6  the  condition  of 
things,  and  the  probability  of  a  well-appointed  force 
being  able  to  defeat  the  enenn^  at  Mora.  On  receipt 
of  this  intelligence  at  Santa  Fe,  Capt.  Moriu,  of  Platte, 
with  some  200  men,  was  despatched  to  Mora,  and  on 
his  arrival  the  inhabitants  fled,  leaving  everything  to 
the  mercy  of  the  Americans.  The  town  was  burnt, 
and  ever3'thing  possible  for  the  enemy  to  subsist  upon 
was  destroyed. 

"Capt.  St.  Vrain,  of  Fort  St.  Vrain,  headed  fifty 
volunteers  from  among  the  clerks,  attaches,  team- 
sters, etc.,  of  Santa  Fe,  accompanied  Col.  I*rice  on  his 
march  against  the  Taos  rabble.  During  the  fight  de 
Tafolla,  who  had  on  Gov.  Bent's  coat  and  shirt,  was 
captured.  None  of  the  Armijos  were  among  the  rab- 
ble; they  appeared  to  be  all  'greasers,'  that  is.  loafers. 
Col.  St.  Vrain  killed  a  ^lexican,  one,  Jesus.  Among 
them  one,  Cortez,  of  Mora  valley,  was  prominent. 
Xone  of  the  St.  Louis  volunteers  were  with  Price  save 
a  detachment  of  Capt.  Fischer's  artillery.  The  guns 
were  mounted  at  Fort  Marcy,  and  under  command  of 
Capt.  Fischer.  Donaciano  Mgil.  Secretary  of  State 
under  Bent,  was  now  acting  Governor  of  Santa  Fe. 

"A  great  deal  of  sickness  prevailed  in  town,  but 
chiefly  among  the  teamsters,  broken  down  as  they 
were.  There  were  from  three  to  five  deaths  per  day. 
Albert  G.  Wilson,  sutler  of  Price's  regiment,  had 
died.      Col.    Mitchell,    Capt.    Hudson,    Adj.    Walker, 


334  rilK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

Lieut.  Elliott,  and  others  well  known,  were  all  well. 
The  troops  had  been  discontented,  but  principally 
from  inactivity-. 

"Mr.  Charles  Town,  well  known  in  St.  Louis,  was 
Ihe  only  American  who  escaped  the  massacre.  His 
father-in  law  (a  Mexican)  gave  him  a  good  mule,  and 
he  brought  the  news  of  the  disaster  to  Santa  Fe.  It 
has  been  stated  that  lieiit  was  killed  at  noonday; 
this  is  not  so;  he  was  killed  at  night.  It  has  also 
been  rumored  privately  that  Frank  IJlair  was  killed. 
This  is  another  mistake.  He  was,  at  the  time,  in  the 
mountains  with  Geo.  Bent.  Mr.  Caldwell  met  Major 
Clark  12(1  miles  below  Santa  Ft^.  At  El  Taso  he  left 
Col.  Doniphan  and  command,  all  well.  The  Glasgows 
and  the  rest  of  the  traders  were  well,  but  losing,  from 
their  necessarily  heavy  exiHMises.  Mc(iottin  was  only 
detained  at  Chihuahua.  Col.  I)onij)han  would,  beyond 
doubt,  march  on  Chihuahua,  but  was  not  likely  to  b<^ 
taken  by  surprise,  as  he  was  exercising  great  caution. 
Tlie  Santa  Fe  theatrical  corps  liad  gone  south  on  a 
rather  ditTerent  campaign.  Mr.  C.  met  Lieut.  Simp- 
son at  110  mile  c-reek — that  number  of  miles  from 
Independence.  He  had  with  him  two  wagons  and  ten 
men,  conducting  a  lu*avv  mail.  Tliere  was  snow  fall- 
ing on  the  ])lains  from  the  KJth  of  February  to  the 
Ibth  of  Afarch,  almost  uninterruptedly.  The  mail 
which  Mr.  C.  had  charge  of,  he  was  obliged  to 
leave  on  the  Arkansas,  and  it  juobably  would  Ix'  «le- 
tained  ten  oi-  twelve  days  behiiHl  him.  .Mr.  Sol.  Sub- 
lette had  not  arrived  at  Santa  Fe,  and  the  presump- 
tion is  that  his  despatches  must  have  taken  him,  by 
the  way  of  llent's  Fort,  to  California.  Capt.  Murpliy 
had  arrived  at   Santa  Fe  with  the  government  funds." 


OF    TIIIC    TKUUITOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  335 

Captain  Waldo  and  liis  trooj)  took  part  in  the 
groat  ])arado  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis  on  July  2,  1847, 
after  the  retui-n  from  the  war.  He  was  also  i)roniinent 
in  the  festivities  occurring;  at  Indeitendence  upon  the 
return  of  his  eoni])any  to  their  homes. 

In  1849,  ^larcli  27th.  Captain  Waldo  was  married 
at  Inde})endence,  Missouri,  to  P.liza  Jane,  daujihter  of 
]']dwai'd  and  Marj>aret  ((llasoow)  Norris,  of  Culpeper, 
Virginia,  of  which  marriage  there  were  five  children, 
David  and  ^^'illiam  ^Valdo,  now  deceased,  Mrs.  Minnie 
Waldo  Hill,  Mrs.  Lnla  Waldo  Sloan  and  ]Mrs.  Will- 
iam Hinkle,  all  of  whom  are  now  living  in  Jackson 
county.  Mo. 

Aftei'  the  war  with  iNlexico,  Captain  Waldo  con 
tiijiiued  trading  and  freighting  over  the  old  Santa  F<^ 
Trail,  also  to  Utah  and  the  Platte  river  country,  and 
was  very  successful  in  all  his  business  enterprises. 
He  died  at  Independence  May  20,  1878. 


Governor  William  Gilpin. 


WILLIAM  GILPIN. 

William  Gilpin  was  the  eighth  and  youngest  child 
of  Joshua  Gilpin,  and  was  a  direct  descendant  of  the 
De  Guylpyns  who  invaded  Britain  with  William  the 
Conqueror.  His  ancestor  in  America  was  Joseph  Gil- 
pin, a  Quaker,  who  came  to  America  in  1096  and 
settled  on  the  Brandywine,  in  what  is  now  Delaware 
county,  Pennsylvania,  at  which  place  William  Gilpin 
was  born  on  the  4th  day  of  October,  1822.  During 
the  Eevolutionary  War  his  ancestors  took  no  part  re- 
quiring service  in  the  army.  A  brother  of  William 
Gilpin,  Henry,  was  Attorney  General  of  the  United 
States,  appointed  by  Andrew  Jackson.  In  his  youth 
William  Gilpin  attended  school  in  England,  but  re- 
turned to  America  and  graduated  from  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  had  as  tutor  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne. After  his  graduation  from  the  University 
Gilpin  entered  the  United  States  Military  Academy, 
where  he  was  taught  by  Montgomery  Blair  and  George 
G.  Meade.  Upon  leaving  the  academy  Gilpin  was  com 
missioned  a  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  Second  Dragoons 
and  was  on  recruiting  service  in  Missouri  for  the 
Seminole  War,  in  which,  later  on,  he  was  an  active 
participant.  After  the  war  was  concluded,  he  made 
application  to  lead  an  exploring  expedition  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  Columbia  river,  but  was  denied  per- 
mission, whereupon  he  tendered  his  resignation  from 
the  army,  which  was  accepted. 

Gilpin  moved  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he 
was  the  editor  of  a  newspaper,  which  espoused  titr 
cause  of  Senator  Benton,  the  latter  alwavs  remaining 


338  Tilt:    MILITARY    OCCUPATION' 

a  jjreat  friend  of  (Til])in.  In  1S40  Gilpin  was  clerk 
of  the  House  of  Kepresentativcs  of  the  State  of  Mis 
souri  and  in  the  followinji;  year  moved  to  Independ 
<'nee,  where  he  lived  for  twenty  years.  (Jilpin  was 
an  ojttiinist  in  every  sense  of  the  word;  he  had  nn- 
honuded  confidence  in  the  future  "greatness  of  the 
West  and  exerted  <i;reat  infiuence  over  otheis  alon^  the 
same  lines.  He  foretold  the  present  city  of  Kansas 
CMty  and  j>rophesied  the  construction  of  the  Missouri 
Pacific  and  T'nion  Pacific  railways. 

Gilpin  never  reliiKpiished  the  idea  of  his  exi)lorinj; 
expedition  to  the  Golumbia  river  and,  in  1843,  sold 
his  law  library  and  other  ett'ects  for  the  i)ur})ose  of 
raising;  money  to  j^ratify  his  desire  to  make  the  ex- 
pedition. He  set  out  on  this  trip  alone,  havinfj;  been 
accom])anied  a  short  distance  alon^  the  Santa  F«^ 
Trail  by  his  i>ersonal  friend,  David  ^Valdo.  At  a  j»oint 
about  thirty  miles  from  Independence  he  fell  in  witli 
the  paity  undei-  General  Fremont.  This  meeting  oc- 
curred on  the  31st  day  of  May.  1S43.  This  meeting  is 
(h'scribed  in  Chronicles  of  the  Guilders  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, as  follows:'^ 

"He  went  into  canii*  the  first  evening,  out  about 
thirty  miles,  at  a  sjiot  called  the  Lone  Elm.  David 
^\'aIdo,  the  man  who  had  htaned  him  the  money,  ac 
companying  him  thus  far.  He  found  encam])ed  in  this 
vicinity  a  few  men  whom  he  did  not  at  first  recognize, 
but  to  his  sni-prise  they  proved  to  be  the  i)arty  of 
Fremont.  This  immortal  jiathfinder  asked  (iil]>in 
wheie  he  was  going,  and  was  told.  He  exj)ressed 
astonishment    and   said,   'Why.   even    with    my   whole 

''Bancroft.    Chronicles    of    the    Builders    of    the    Common- 
wealth, page  r)22. 


OP    THE    TKRUITORY    OF    XKW    MEXICO.  '{30 

force,  I  do  not  consider  myself  safe  from  massacre 
to-morrow;  now  if  you  are  determined  to  j^o  on,  throw 
your  pack  into  one  of  my  cliarettes,  turn  your  mule 
into  my  band,  and  let  me  have  the  re-enforcement  of 
your  horse  and  rifie.'  This  arrangemeut  was  highly 
satisfactory  to  Gilpiu,  as  it  afforded  liim  (companion- 
ship and  protection  for  a  long  distance." 

The  expedition  reached  the  Coast  in  the  fall. 
Here  Gilpin  remained  for  some  time,  learning  all  he 
could  of  the  country  and  its  resources.  He  made  a 
report  to  Washington,  in  March,  184(5,  which  was 
printed  as  a  Senate  document. 

When  the  war  witli  Mexico  was  begun  he  obtained 
])ermission  from  l*resident  l*olk  to  raise  a  regiment, 
but,  upon  reaching  Independence,  he  ascertained  that 
a  company  had  already  been  raised  and  had  gone  to 
Ft.  Leavenworth  to  be  mustered  into  tlie  service.  He 
at  once  left  for  Ft.  Leavenworth  and  there  found  six 
conii)anies  of  the  1st  Regiment  Missouri  Volunteers. 
Company  A  of  this  regiment  was  composed  of  friends 
of  Gilpin,  who  anxiously  awaited  his  coming.  Kearny 
was  present  and,  as  he  did  not  feel  kindly  toward 
Crilpin,  determined  he  should  have  no  command  in  the 
regiment.  Gilpin  knew  he  would  be  elected  one  of 
the  officers  of  the  regiment  if  lie  could  once  get  ad- 
mitted to  the  com})any.  He  found  in  the  Jackson 
county  com]>any  a  boy  whose  mother  had  claimed  his 
discharge  on  account  of  his  youtli.  Gilpin  paid  the 
boy  eighty-five  dollars  for  his  place  in  the  ranks. 
Otherwise  he  could  not  have  enlisted,  as  the  company 
was  already  at  its  maximum.  Gilpin  trained  and 
drilled  this  company  from  tlie  day  lie  enlisted  until  the 
regimental    election    for    officers    was    held.     Colonel 


340  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

Doniphan  was  chosen  to  command  the  regiment.  The 
latter  desired  Gilpin  for  lieutenant  colonel,  but  a 
graduate  of  West  Point,  named  Ruff,  was  elected  by 
two  votes.    Gilpin  was  then  elected  major. 

After  his  election  he  was  told  that  Kearny  wished 
to  see  him  in  his  office.  He  obeyed  the  summons  and 
Kearny  said:  "I  have  received  from  the  President  an 
appointment  for  you  as  lieutenant  colonel  of  the 
Third  Kegiment,  and  I  suppose  this  is  followed  by  a 
life  service  if  you  choose.  Had  you  better  not  with- 
draw now  and  avail  yourself  of  this  appointment?" 
Gilpin  refused  to  accept  it  and  marched  with  the  regi- 
ment to  New  Mexico  and  Ghihuahua. 

Upon  his  return  from  the  Mexican  war  he  was 
taken  ill,  and  while  confined  to  his  bed  was  visited 
by  Governor  Edwards  of  the  state  of  Missouri,  who 
told  him  that,  at  the  request  of  President  Polk,  he  had 
come  to  ask  that  he  raise  a  regiment  of  volunteers  for 
the  purpose  of  opening  the  Santa  F^  Trail  and  main- 
taining it,  as  the  country  west  was  infested  with 
hostile  Indians.  Gilpin,  after  much  argument,  ac- 
cepted and  raised  a  battalion,  which  was  mustered 
into  service  at  Ft.  Leavenworth,  Gilpin  started  west 
with  his  army  on  the  4tli  day  of  October,  1847.  He 
followed  the  Trail,  which  led  to  Bent's  Fort.  Here 
he  spent  the  winter,  drilling  his  battalion,  and  some- 
times holding  council  with  Indian  chiefs.  The  follow- 
ing sjiring  an  active  campaign  was  instituted  and, 
from  Uw  middle  of  July  to  the  end  of  August,  nine 
battles  were  fought  and  two  hundred  and  flfty-three 
scalps  of  Indian  wairiors  were  taken.  This  battalion 
was  known  as  "Gilpin's  Battalicm,  Missouri  Mounted 
Volunteers.'" 


OF    THE    TERRITOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  341 

This  force,  under  Gilpin,  crossed  the  Katon  moun- 
tains on  tlie  loth  of  March,  1848,  descended  tlie  Cana- 
dian through  the  country  of  the  Apaches  and  Coman- 
ches  during  the  spring,  and  fouglit  many  flgiits  with 
the  Pawnees  on  tlie  >Midd]e  Arkansas  and  on  the  Kaw 
rivers,  until  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  service, 
when  peace  was  declared  with  ^lexico.  The  marches 
made  exceeded  three  thousand  miles. 

When  the  election  of  18C0  was  held,  it  is  said  that 
William  Gilpin  was  the  only  man  living  in  Jackson 
county,  Missouri,  who  voted  for  Abraham  Lincoln. 
He  was  one  of  the  men  who  attended  President  Lin- 
coln, from  Illinois  to  Washington,  for  his  inaugura- 
tion, and  it  was  upon  this  occasion  that,  under  Sen- 
ator Lane,  of  Kansas,  and  Cassius  M.  Clay,  of  Ken- 
tucky, he  helped  to  guard  the  White  House,  sleeping 
in  that  edifice  each  night. 

Gilpin  was  appointed  Governor  of  the  Territory 
of  Colorado  by  Lincoln  and  served  for  two  years,  1861- 
1863. 

Gilpin  was  a  great  student.  He  wrote  several 
valuable  books.  He  predicted  that  a  railway  would 
be  built  around  the  earth  by  way  of  Behring  Strait. 

Gilpin  was  a  tall  man,  spare  built,  and  weighed 
in  the  neighborhood  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds. 
He  made  a  large  fortune  by  prudent  investment  in 
lands  in  Colorado.  He  was  a  typical  American  citi- 
zen. He  led  the  way.  He  believed  in  the  future  of 
the  Great  West,  when  such  men  as  Daniel  Webster 
declared  that  everything  west  of  the  Missouri  was  a 
worthless  area,  a  region  of  savages  and  wild  beasts, 
deserts  of  shifting  sands  and  whirlwinds  of  dust,  of 
cactus  and  prairie  dogs.     Gilpin  was  right.     Webster 


IU2  Till-:    -MILITAHY    OCCLTATlON' 

juid  all  Now  England  at  that  time  believed  tliat  it 
was  worse  than  useless  to  reclaim  these  deserts  or 
harness  the  waterpower  of  the  rivers  in  the  moun- 
tains. "What  use  have  we  for  such  a  country?"  said 
the  great  Webster.  "1  will  never  vote  one  cent  from 
the  jmblic  treasury  to  i)lace  the  Pacific  Coast  one  inch 
nearer  to  Boston   than   it  now  is." 

Gili>in"s  ideas  as  to  the  great  plains  and  the  coun- 
try to  the  west  to  the  Pacific  Coast  are  best  under- 
stood by  quoting  from  an  address  delivered  by  him 
in  Cole  county,  Missouri,  shortly  after  the  return  of 
the  First  Missouri  Mounted  Volunteer  Cavalry  from 
the  War  with  Mexico,  in  which  he  said,  in  closing: 

"Fellow  Countrymen  and  Ladies — The  soldiers  of 
the  first  reciuisition  from  Missouri,  excej)ting  those 
who  sleep  forever  beneath  the  shadows  of  the  Sierra 
Madre,  have  returned  to  receive  the  greetings  of  tlunr 
friends  and  kindred.  We  bring  with  us  the  spoil  of 
the  enemy  as  trophies  of  our  victories. 

"These  assemblies,  these  crowds  of  fair  women 
and  brave  men,  these  complimentary  festivals  and 
flattering  words,  resounding  in  our  ears  from  every 
village  and  from  every  cabin,  are  the  gratifying  re- 
wards of  our  efforts  and  our  deeds. 

"Thus  are  our  long-sus|M'nded  hopes  and  painful 
anxieties  consummated  by  a  <leep  and  gratifying  sense 
of  triumjdi.  So  have  we  performed  oui-  task,  and  such 
is  our  munific<'nt  i-eward. 

"SutTei-  me  to  say.  as  on<'  elevated  ]»y  their  own 
suffrages  to  an  imi)ortant  command  among  them,  as 
well  to  my  fellow  soldiers  as  to  those  here  j>resent 
who  have  sons  oi'  brothers  or  fi'ieiids  among  tliem, 
that   I    found  anuuig  the  men   at   all    tim<*s  the   most 


OF    THE    TERUITOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  343 

iuliiiii-ablo  disci])liiie,  the  most  prompt  and  spontane- 
ous obedience;  at  all  times  a  modest,  unassuming 
bravery,  which  met  thirst  and  cold  and  starvation 
and  exhausting  night  marches  with  songs  and  gayety 
and   merriment. 

"They  displayed  on  the  tield.  and  in  the  hour  of 
battle,  a  quiet  anxiety  for  the  charge,  and  then 
l>lunged  down  npon  the  enemy  with  a  fiery  fury  which 
overwhelmed  them  with  defeat  and  stung  them  with 
despair.  These  qualities  they  adorned  with  modera- 
tion after  victory  and  clemency  to  the  vancpiished. 

"Rut  the  career  of  your  soldiers,  so  ha})pily  be- 
gun, closes  not  here.  May  they  not  yet  devote  their 
young  energies  to  a  country  which  they  ardently  love 
and  Avliich  thus  generously  illusti'ates  its  love  for 
them? 

"War  has  been  to  our  jjrogressive  nation  the  fruit- 
ful season  of  generating  new  offspring  to  our  confed- 
eration. 

" During  the  Kevolution,  little  armies,  issuing  from 
the  Alleghanies,  passed  over  Kentucky,  the  Northwest 
Territory,  and  Tennessee.  These  new  countries  had 
been  reconnoitered  and  admired.  With  hardy  franu's. 
confirmed  health,  and  recruited  yeai'  by  year  of  peace, 
these  soldiers  returned  to  occupy  the  choice  spots 
which  had  been  their  bivouac  and  camping  grounds. 
From  the  campaigns  of  war  grew  settlements  of 
peace,  and  i)opu]ous  states  displaced  the  wilderness. 
Another  war  came,  with  another  generation ;  armies 
penetrated  Michigan,  upper  Illinois  and  into  Missis- 
sippi. The  great  Mississippi,  crossed  at  many  points, 
ceased  to  be  a  barrier,  and  the  steamboat  appeared, 


344  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

plowing  its  yellow  flow.  Five  great  states  and  2,- 
000,000  of  people  emblazon  its  western  bank, 

"And  now  again  have  come  another  generation 
and  another  war.  Your  little  armies  have  scaled  the 
eternal  barriers  of  the  mother  mountain  of  the  New 
World,  and  buried  for  a  time  in  the  mazes  of  its  man- 
ifold peaks  and  ridges,  have  debouched  at  many  points 
upon  the  briny  beach  of  the  Pacific. 

"Passing  round  by  the  great  oceans,  a  military 
marine  simultaneously  strikes  the  shore  and  lends 
them  aid.  Thus  is  the  wilderness  reconnoitered  in 
war,  its  geography  illustrated  and  its  conquerors  dis- 
ciplined. 

"Your  soldiers,  resting  for  a  time  at  home,  will 
sally  forth  again,  and,  wielding  the  weapons  of  hus- 
bandry, give  to  you  new  roads  that  will  nurture  com- 
merce and  a  sisterhood  of  maritime  states  on  the  new- 
found ocean." 


Colonel  John  W.  Reid. 

Fi-om  a  Photograph  by  Thompson,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 


JOHN  W.  REID. 

John  W.  Keid  was  born  at  Lynchburj?,  Virginia, 
June  14,  1820.  His  ancestors  fought  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  One  of  them  was  the  founder  of  Lib- 
erty Hall  Academy,  now  Washington  and  Lee  Univer- 
sit}'.  In  1841  he  moved  to  the  state  of  Missouri,  and 
settled  in  Saline  county,  where  he  taught  school  and 
studied  law.  In  the  year  ISM)  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  and  practiced  for  a  few  months  in  the  early  part 
of  the  year.  When  the  war  with  Mexico  broke  out 
he  raised  a  company  in  Saline  county  and  was  com- 
missioned its  captain  and  served  with  distinction  in 
Colonel  Doniphan's  regiment. 

After  the  conquest  of  the  Territory  of  New  Mex- 
ico, and  while  Doniphan's  command  was  preparing 
to  march  on  (.'hihuahua,  an  order  came  from  General 
Kearny  to  Doniphan  to  proceed  to  the  subjugation  of 
the  Navajo  tribe  of  Indians,  bands  of  whom  had  l)een 
raiding  in  the  valley  of  the  Hio  (Jrandc.  Colon**!  Don 
ijjhan  was  ordered  to  effect  amicable  aiiangemeuts 
with  the  Navajos,  if  possible. 

Wliih-  at  the  Pueblo  of  Laguna.  situate  on  the 
line  of  the  Atchison.  Topeka  an«l  Santa  Fe  Railway, 
a  short  distance  west  of  the  city  of  All)uquer(iue.  a 
chief  of  the  Navajos.  named  Sandoval,  was  sent  by 
Lieutenant  Colonel  .lackson  to  see  the  princii)al  men 
of  his  tribe  and  ascertain  if  I  hey  were  of  a  disposition 
to  make  a  treaty  with  the  Americans.  After  an  ab 
sence  of  ten  days  or  two  weeks  Sandoval  returned 
and  repented  that  he  had  seen  all  the  head  men  of  the 
Navajo  nation,  and  that  they  were  mostly  for  peace, 


MILITAKY    OCCLl'ATIOX    OF    XKW     MEXICO.  347 

but  they  were  uuwilliiiji-  to  trust  theuiselves  auionji 
the  New  Mexicaus.  unless  tliey  should  be  fui-nished 
with  an  escort  of  "white  men"  wliose  protection  wouhl 
ensure  their  safety.  And.  further,  that  before  coniin<; 
into  the  American  camjt  they  wished  to  see  some  of 
the  "white  men"  among  them,  that  they  might  tallc 
witli  them  and  learn  what  was  desired.'' 

Captain  Keid  immediately  ai)plied  to  Colonel 
Jackson  for  permission,  with  a  small  body  of  troops, 
to  go  to  the  Navajo  country  and  learn  for  himself 
whether  or  not  the  Navajos  desired  peace  or  war. 
Keid's  request  was  granted,  and  on  the  20th  day  of 
October,  1846,  he,  with  thirty  volunteers,  accompanied 
by  Lieutenants  De  Courcey  and  Wells,  set  out  for  the 
Navajo  country. 

The  New  ^fexicans  were  amazed  at  his  temerity. 
To  enter  the  country  of  this  great  nation,  noted  for  its 
fighting  men,  who  had  for  many  years  robbed  and 
plundered  the  citizens  of  the  valleys,  with  less  than 
an  army,  was,  to  the  mind  of  the  native,  little  less 
than  annihilation.  Sandoval  accompanied  the  expe- 
dition as  guide.  The  expedition,  in  its  march,  en- 
countered difficulties  of  the  most  appalling  nature.  It 
passed  over  great  mountains.  Precipices  and  yawning 
chasms  often  left  but  a  narrow  passage,  where  a  mis- 
step would  ])lunge  horse  and  rider  hundreds  of  feet 
to  the  foot  of  the  canon  walls.'*"' 

The  expedition  traveled  five  days  with  trifling 
intermission  and  camped  for  a  rest  near  a  beautiful 
s})ring  of  water,  in  a  locality  where  grass  was  abund- 
ant for  their  horses.  Here  Sandoval  brought  to  them 
abont    fortv    warriors,    together    with    some    of   their 


'""•'■'Hughes'  Doniphan's  Expedition. 


348  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

women.  At  first  the  Indians  showed  signs  of  fear, 
whereupon  Captain  Keid,  leaving  his  men  in  the  valley, 
rode  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  along  with  Sandoval, 
stopped  and  saluted  the  Indians  in  a  friendly  manner. 
I'resently,  after  some  conversation  with  Sandoval,  the 
Indians  approached  and  rode  down  to  the  camp,  where 
Indians  and  Americans  passed  the  night  together,  the 
utmost  confidence  api)arentl3'  j)revailing. 

The  following  day,  at  the  request  of  the  Indians, 
the  expedition  moved  on  to  a  point  some  thirty  miles 
distant,  where  they  were  advised  there  was  to  be  a 
grand  junta  of  Indians  and  a  celebration.  The  Indians 
were  very  anxious  to  have  the  captain  and  his  handful 
of  men  as  guests,  and  notified  him  ''that  most  of  their 
peoj>le  had  never  seen  a  white  man,  but  having  heard 
much  of  the  power  and  wisdom  of  the  Americans,  and 
of  the  ])rogress  of  the  army  in  New  Mexico,  were  very 
anxious  to  see  and  entertain  them."  Captain  Reid 
agreed  to  their  proposal  and.  following  the  Indians, 
the  exjiedition  j)roceed(Hl  to  the  place  designated, 
where  they  found  more  than  five  hundi'ed  warriors 
and  women  congregated.  The  Indians  received  them 
with  the  greatest  professions  of  friendshij),  and  made 
them  i)resents  of  shee]>  and  other  meats  which  were 
highly  accei)table.  Camp  was  made,  when  it  was  im- 
mediately filled  with  Indians,  eagerly  gratifying  their 
curiosity.  The  feasting  and  dancing  continued  until 
late  at  night,  during  which  the  captain  and  his  ukmi 
mixed  in  the  crowd,  to  the  great  enjoyment  and  satis- 
faction of  the  Xavajos.'^ 

The  following  day  the  captain  proposed  a  "grand 
talk,"  but  was  informed  by  the  Indians  that  the  head 

''Hughes'  Doniphan's  Expedition. 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO,  349 

chiefs  of  the  nation  were  not  present,  and  said  that 
with  one  day's  march  further  into  the  country,  oi)por- 
tunity  would  be  given  to  talk  with  the  big  chiefs,  who 
were  men  of  great  knowledge  and  experience. 

Captain  Reid,  after  consultation  with  the  two  offi- 
cers and  some  of  his  men,  concluded  to  accompany 
the  Indians.  Afterwards,  in  a  letter  written  describ- 
ing the  j)erils  that  surrounded  him  at  the  time.  Cap- 
tain Reid  said:'^ 

'This  was  the  most  critical  situation  in  which  1 
ever  found  myself  placed, — with  only  thirty  men,  in 
the  very  center  of  a  people,  the  most  savage  and  pro- 
verbially treacherous  of  any  on  the  continent.  Many 
of  them  were  not  very  friendly.  Being  completely  in 
their  power,  we,  of  course,  had  to  play  the  game  to  the 
best  advantage.  As  there  was  no  pasturage  near  the 
camp,  we  had  to  send  out  our  horses.  Our  numbers 
were  too  few  to  divide  or  even  altogether  to  think  of 
protecting  the  horses,  if  the  Indians  were  disposed  to 
take  them.  So  I  even  made  a  virtue  of  necessity  and, 
putting  great  confidence  in  the  honesty  of  their  inten- 
tions, I  gave  my  horses  in  charge  of  one  of  the  chiefs 
of  these  notorious  horse  stealers.  He  took  them  out 
some  five  miles  to  graze,  and  we,  after  taking 
supper,  again  joined  in  the  dance,  which  was  kept  up 
until  next  morning.  Our  men  happened  to  take  the 
right  course  to  please  the  Indians,  participating  in  all 
their  sports  and  exchanging  liveries  with  them.  They 
seemed  to  be  equally  delighted  to  see  themselves 
clothed  in  the  vestui'e  obtained  from  us,  and  to  see 
our  men  adopting  their  costumes.  The  emboldened 
confidence  and  freedom  with  which  we  mixed  among 


'Hughes'  Doniphan's  Expedition. 


350  THK    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

tlieni  seiMued  to  win  iii>oii  their  feelinjjjs  and  inako 
tlieni  disposed  to  j^iant  whatever  we  asked.  Thev 
taxed  their  ])owers  of  perforniaiue  in  all  their  games 
1o  ainnse  us  and  make  the  time  i)ass  agreeably,  not- 
withstanding our  imminently  precarious  situation. 

'*^^'e  had  not  arrived  at  the  place  of  our  camp  be- 
fore we  were  met  by  all  the  head  men  of  the  nation. 
The  chief  of  all,  Xarbona,  being  very  sick,  was  never- 
theless mounted  on  horseback  and  brought  in.  He 
slept  in  my  camp  all  night.  Xarbona,  who  was  prob 
ably  seventy  years  old,  being  held  in  great  reverence 
by  his  tribe  for  the  warlike  exploits  of  his  youth  and 
manhood,  was  now  a  mere  skeleton  of  a  man,  being 
completely  prostrated  by  rheumatism,  the  only  disease, 
though  a  very  common  one,  in  this  country.  Conform- 
ably to  a  custom  of  the  chief  men  of  his  tribe,  he  wore 
his  finger  nails  very  long.  })robably  one  and  a  half 
inches — formidable  weapons  I  He  api>eared  to  be  a 
inild,  amiable  man.  and,  though  he  had  been  a  war- 
rior himself,  was  very  anxious  before  his  death  to 
secure  for  his  ]>eo])le  a  [)eace  with  all  their  old  enemies, 
as  well  as  with  us,  the  new  men,  as  he  called  us. 

"Upon  the  evening  after  our  arrival  we  held  a 
grand  talk,  in  which  all  the  old  men  i)articipated. 
Most  of  them  seemed  disposed  for  peace,  but  some 
opposed  it.  as  being  contrary  to  the  honor  of  the 
Xavajos.  as  well  as  their  interest,  to  make  i)eace  with 
Mexicans,  though  they  were  willing  to  do  so  with  us. 
The  peace  j)arty.  however,  pievaih-d.  and  by  fair  words 
and  jiromises  of  ju-otection  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
promi.se  from  the  i»rincij»al  men  that  they  would  over- 
take me  at  the  Agua  Fria,  a  place  some  forty  miles  from 
Jackson's  camj>,  from   whence  we  would  go  together 


OP    THE    TERRITORY    OP    NEW    MEXICO.  351 

to  Santa  ¥6  and  conclude  tlio  final  treaty.  The  nifjfht 
})assed  oil'  in  a  variety  of  diversions  and  in  the  inorn- 
inj^,  notwithstandinjj;  Ihe  most  iir<;eiit  desire  on  the 
part  of  our  entertainers  that  we  would  stay.  I  thouj;ht 
it  prudent  to  return,  as  we  were  runniii'''  short  of 
provisions.  Our  liorses  were  forthcoming  without  a 
single  exception,  and  as  soon  as  w'e  caught  them  we 
turned  our  faces  towards  camp.  Although  this  ex- 
pedition was  one  of  much  hazard,  yet  it  turned  out  to 
he  one  of  much  pleasurable  excitement,  and  attended 
with  no  loss  or  harm.  The  country  through  which  we 
traveled  is  amongst  the  finest  ])ortions  of  Mexico,  de- 
cidedh'  the  best  for  the  growth  of  stock  and  present- 
ing more  interest  and  variety  in  its  features  than  any 
over  which  I  traveled.  It  is,  however,  ver^'  destitute 
of  water,  so  much  so  as  to  make  it  dangerous  for  those 
to  travel  without  a  guide.  On  this  account,  more  than 
by  its  mountain  fastnesses,  it  is  impregnable  to  in- 
vasion. The  people  who  inhabit  it,  and  who  were  the 
object  of  our  visit,  are  in  many  respects  singular  and 
unlike  other  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this  con- 
tinent. Their  habits  ar(^  very  similar  to  those  of  the 
Tartars.  Thvy  nri'  (entirely  a  ])astoral  }»eople,  their 
rtocks  constituting  their  sole  wealth;  but  little  ad 
dieted  to  the  chase  and  never  indulging  in  it.  (^xcept 
when  the  game  may  be  taken  on  horseback.  Their 
weapons  of  war  are  the  s})ear  oi'  lance,  the  bow.  the 
lasso,  in  the  use  of  all  which  they  are  not  excelled. 
They  may  be  said  literally  to  live  on  horseback.  Of 
these  animals  they  ])0ssess  immense  droves  and  of  a 
stock  the  same  originally  with  the  Mexican  horse,  yet 
wonderfully  im])roved.  They  i)ay  great  attention  to 
the  breeding  of  their  horses  and  think  scarcelv  less 


352  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

of  them  than  do  the  Arabians.  They  also  possess 
many  mules,  but  they  are  generally  the  proceeds  of 
their  marauding  expeditions  against  the  Mexicans. 
Indeed,  the  whole  of  New  Mexico  is  subject  to  the 
devastating  incursions  of  these  lords  of  the  moun- 
tains." 

The  expedition,  conducted  by  Captain  Reid,  ef- 
fected its  return  to  the  place  from  which  they  had 
started  without  any  serious  molestation  or  any  con- 
siderable diflBculty.  The  chiefs  started,  according  to 
promise,  to  overtake  the  captain  at  Agua  Fria,  but 
were  induced  to  turn  back  by  a  miscreant  Navajo,  who 
assured  them  that  if  they  ventured  to  Santa  F^  they 
would  all  be  killed.  Having  had  so  many  evidences 
of  the  bad  faith  of  the  Mexicans,  they  were  naturally 
suspicious  and  therefore  abandoned  their  purpose. 

Later  on,  at  the  Bear  Spring,  a  treaty  with  the 
Navajos  was  executed  by  Colonel  Doniphan,  all  of  the 
principal  chiefs  of  the  tribe  being  present  and  sign- 
ing the  document. 

At  the  Battle  of  the  Brazito,  on  Christmas  day, 
1846,  Captain  Reid  again  distinguished  himself.  The 
American  left  was  charged  by  the  Mexican  cavalry, 
when  Captain  Reid  with  only  sixteen  mounted  men 
(the  rest  of  his  command  being  on  foot)  charged  upon 
them,  broke  through  their  ranks,  hewed  them  to  pieces 
with  their  sabres  and  thereby  contributed  materially 
in  throwing  the  enemy's  right  wing  into  confusion."'' 

In  the  battle  of  Sacramento,  Captain  Reid,  at  the 
head  of  his  troop,  charged  the  enemy,  entrenched  at 

■"Report  of  Col.  Doniphan.  March  4,  1847 — from  Chihua- 
hua to  Brig.  Gen.  R.  Jones,  Adjutant  General  U.  S.  A.,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 


OF    THE    TEUHITOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  353 

the  top  of  the  hill,  in  a  most  brilliant  manner.  Major 
Gilpin  in  his  report  of  the  battle  says:  ''The  onset 
was  commenced  by  a  charge  at  full  gallop  of  Captain 
Keid's  cavalry,  accompanied  by  the  howitzers  of  our 
battery,  upon  the  round  fort  in  front.  These  coming 
upon  the  gully  beneath  the  Mexican  works,  the  howitz- 
ers turned  off  to  the  left  and  passing  around  the  head 
of  the  gully  unlimbered  close  under  the  Mexican  mus- 
kets and  commenced  firing  shells  and  grape.  The 
horsemen,  some  leaping  over  and  others  riding  around 
the  gully,  charged  up  the  slope  supporting  the  howitz- 
ers, but,  being  few  in  number  and  coming  suddenly 
upon  the  dense  masses  of  the  enemy,  thronged  up  in 
their  breastworks,  and,  assailing  them  with  a  thick 
hail  of  bullets,  they  obliqued  to  the  left  along  the  slope 
under  the  trenches,  seeking  intervals  between  the  re- 
doubts through  which  to  charge  and  firing  their  car- 
bines into  the  redoubts  as  they  passed  in  front  of 
them.**° 

In  further  commendation  of  the  conduct  of  the 
officers  and  men  in  this  battle,  Major  Gilpin  says: 
"Should  you  design  to  place  the  achievements  of  our 
officers  and  men  under  the  eye  of  the  President,  allow 
me  to  recommend  them  as  having  conquered  for  them- 
selves, at  Brazito  and  Sacramento,  a  glory  equal  to 
those  who  fought  at  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de  la  Palma 
and  Monterey." 

After  the  army  under  Colonel  Doniphan  had  evac- 
uated the  city  of  Chihuahua,  and  had  taken  up  its 
march  to  join  General  Zachary  Taylor,  Captain  Reid, 
with  a  handful  of  men,  being  at  Parras,  ascertained 


'"Report    of    Major    Gilpin    to   Col.    Doniphan,    Chihuahua. 
March  2,  1847. 


354  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

that  a  band  of  Comanches  had  just  made  a  descent 
from  tlie  mountains  upon  the  city,  and  killed  eight  or 
ten  of  the  citizens,  carried  off  nineteen  boys  and  girls 
into  captivity  and  driven  off  three  hundred  mules  and 
two  hundred  horses.  Besides  this  they  had  robbed 
houses  of  money,  blankets  and  the  sacred  household 
gods.  They  besought  Captain  Reid  to  interfere  in 
their  behalf;  that  although  they  were  considered  ene- 
mies to  the  Americans,  it  did  not  become  the  magna- 
nimity of  the  American  soldiers  to  see  them  robbed 
and  murdered  by  a  lawless  band  of  savages.  Captain 
Keid  undertook  to  recover  the  innocent  captives  and 
chastise  the  brutal  savages.  It  so  happened  that  Lieu- 
tenant Pope  Gordon  had  been  sent  in  advance  of  the 
American  army,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  water  for 
the  men  and  horses  at  El  l*oso.  It  was  just  at  this 
time  that  Keid  was  joined  b}'  Gordon  and  his  small 
force.  The  Indians  soon  appeared,  coming  from  a 
canon  to  the  south  of  the  hacienda.  They  had  all  their 
spoils  and  captives  with  them.  It  was  their  intention 
also  to  take  water  at  El  Poso.  Captain  Reid  concealed 
his  men  in  the  hacienda.  When  the  Indians  had  come 
within  a  half  mile  of  the  hacienda,  a  charge  was  made 
upon  them,  which  was  most  gallantly  accomplished. 
The  Indians  fought  with  desperation.  Captain  Reid, 
in  a  daring  charge,  received  two  severe  wounds,  one  in 
the  face  and  the  other  in  the  shoulder,  both  from 
steel-pointed  arrows.  None  of  Captain  Reid's  com- 
mand was  killed,  but  the  Indians  lost  seventeen  killed 
and  not  less  than  twenty-five  wounded;  all  the  animals 
and  captive  boys  and  girls  were  retaken  and  restored 
to  their  friends  and  relatives.  A  letter  of  thanks  was 
given  to  Cai)tain  Keid  and  his  men  after  this  battle  by 


OF    THE    TEURITOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  355 

the  mayor  of  tlie  city  of  Parras,  which  is  most  compli- 
mentary in  its  terms  and  which  was  read  to  the  people 
at  the  celebration  given  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  on  the 
return  of  the  regiment  from  the  war,  by  Senator 
Thomas  H.  Benton. 

In  the  year  1849  Captain  Keid  settled  at  Inde- 
pendence, Missouri,  and  was  there  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  the  law  until  1853,  when  he  was  elected 
to  the  state  legislature,  and  was  re-elected  in  1855. 
He  was  the  author  of  the  Constitutional  amendment 
under  which  the  state  of  Missouri  was  not  permitted 
to  incur  an  indebtedness  exceeding  thirty  millions  of 
dollars.  In  1855,  together  with  C.  H.  Hardin  and 
Thomas  C.  Richardson,  he  was  appointed  member  of  a 
commission  to  revise  the  laws  of  the  state.  Captain 
Reid  was  very  prominent  in  the  border  troubles  be- 
tween Missouri  and  Kansas  prior  to  the  Civil  War, 
and  commanded  the  Missouri  forces  that  burned  Osa- 
watomie,  in  Kansas.  In  1858  he  was  a  candidate  for 
Congress,  but  was  defeated.  In  1860  he  was  again  a 
candidate,  and  was  elected  and  served  during  the  por- 
tion of  the  extra  session  of  1861  and  later  resigned. 
He  spent  a  year  in  the  military  prison  at  St.  Louis, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  he  was  released  on  his  parole 
and  agreement  to  take  no  further  part  in  the  war. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  war  he  went  to  Liberty,  Mis- 
souri, and  lived  there  about  two  years.  In  1865  he 
removed  to  Kansas  City  and  commenced  the  practice 
of  the  law,  in  partnership  with  William  B.  Napton. 
This  partnership  only  lasted  about  a  year,  when  he 
retired  from  the  practice  of  law,  and  devoted  his  en- 
tire time  to  his  own  real  estate  interests,  which  be- 
came very  important  after  the  panic  of  1873.    Besides 


356  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

giving  his  attention  to  his  own  private  affairs,  he  de- 
voted much  time  to  the  upbuilding  of  Kansas  City, 
and  his  labors  in  this  direction  were  of  great  value. 

To  him  Kansas  City  is  largely  indebted  for  its 
present  greatness.  Captain  Reid  was  a  soldier  and 
a  brave  one.  In  his  profession  he  was  always  highly 
honored  by  the  bar,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and 
by  the  community  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  twice 
married,  first  to  a  Airs.  Flournoy,  and  second  to  Miss 
Sallie  Magraw,  of  Independence,  Missouri,  whose 
father,  M.  F.  Magraw,  was  a  pioneer  Santa  Fe  trader. 

He  died  November  23,  1881. 


General  Sterling  Price, 


STERLING  PRICE. 

Major  General  Sterling  Price  claimed  descent 
from  Lord  Baltimore.  He  was  born  in  Prince  Edward 
county,  Virginia,  September  14,  1809.  Very  little  is 
known  of  his  early  life.  He  attended  the  schools  in 
the  county  where  he  was  raised,  and  graduated,  at  the 
age  of  nineteen,  from  Hampden-Sidney  College.  He 
came  to  the  state  of  Missouri  in  1830,  and  settled  in 
Chariton  county,  w^here  he  lived  until  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  between  the  states. 

General  Price  was  a  man  of  fine  character.  He 
was  elected  to  the  legislature,  and  in  the  year  1842 
was  Speaker  of.  the  House  of  Representatives.  He 
was  elected  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  in 
1844.  He  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress  to  accept  a 
commission  in  the  army.  He  raised  the  2nd  Regiment 
of  Missouri  Mounted  Volunteer  Cavalry,  which  was 
mustered  into  the  service  in  August,  1840.  He  was 
its  Colonel  and  marched  with  his  regiment  to  Santa 
F6,  where  he  assumed  command  of  the  Territory 
after  the  departure  of  General  Kearny  for  California 
and  Colonel  Doniphan  for  Chihuahua.  He  suppressed 
the  rebellion  of  the  Indians  and  Mexicans  in  January, 
1847,  an  account  of  which  is  given  elsewhere  in  this 
volume.  He  was  commissioned  a  Brigadier  General, 
July  20,  1847.  He  returned  to  Missouri  after  the 
treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  and  in  1852  was  elected 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  which  office  he 
filled  capably  for  four  years. 

Prior  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  between  the 
states,  General   Price  was  a  strong  Union  man;  he 


MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  359 

earnestly  advocated  the  preservation  of  the  Union, 
and  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  convention  called 
by  the  state  legislature  as  a  Union  advocate.  He  was 
elected  president  of  the  convention.  General  Price 
did  all  in  his  power  to  {prevent  secession  by  his  state, 
and  did  all  that  he  could  to  maintain  its  policy  of 
neutrality.  He  was  made  commander  of  the  state 
guards,  but  the  course  of  events  made  it  necessary  for 
him  to  finally  join  the  confederate  armies.  He  was 
made  a  Major-General,  and  his  services  were  rendered 
principally  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas.  He  led  the  Con- 
federate army  with  great  skill  at  the  battles  of  Wil- 
son Creek  and  Pea  Kidge.  On  the  20th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 18G2,  he  fought  the  battle  of  luka,  and  later 
on  was  in  the  battle  of  Corinth.  General  Price  and 
his  Missourians  were  the  idols  of  the  army.  In  18G4 
he  again  invaded  Missouri,  but  the  campaign  was  one 
of  disaster,  and  he  retreated  into  Arkansas. 

Physically,  General  Price  was  a  fine  specimen  of 
manhood;  he  was  over  six  feet  in  height  and  straight 
as  an  Indian.  He  was  dignified,  graceful  and  gentle 
and  in  every  way  a  gentleman. 

When  the  war  between  the  states  was  at  an  end 
General  Price  went  to  Mexico,  where  he  sought  serv- 
ice with  the  Emperor  Maximilian.  He  returned  to 
Missouri  and  engaged  in  the  commission  business  in 
St.  Louis,  and  died  September  29,  1867. 

General  Price  was  a  soldier  in  every  sense  of  the 
word.  He  was  a  great  general.  He  was  a  strict  dis- 
ciplinarian, but  the  care  of  his  soldiers  was  always  his 
first  consideration.  He  was  very  companionable,  and 
was  beloved  by  all  his  men.  In  Missouri  he  was 
known  as  *'01d  Pap  Price,"  and  to-day  the  memory 


.'{<)()  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MKXICO. 

of  the  man  is  sacred  in  some  parts  of  the  state.  He 
treated  the  captives  from  the  Union  army  with  great 
tenderness  and  consideration.  Those  Union  men  who 
had  been  captured  by  his  army,  upon  their  return  to 
the  Union  ranks,  were  loud  in  their  praises  of  Gen 
eral  Price.  He  was  alwajs  solicitous  as  to  the  sick, 
and  it  made  no  difference  to  him  whether  the  soldier 
was  a  confederate  or  a  federal.  As  was  said  of  him, 
"He  was  more  than  their  commander;  he  was  their 
personal  friend;  Old  Pap  Price  was  their  father  in- 
deed.'' His  own  troops  not  only  loved  him,  but  were 
devoted  to  him.  His  figure  in  the  battlefield,  clothed 
in  a  common  brown  linen  coat,  with  his  white  hair 
streaming  in  the  wind,  was  the  signal  for  wild  and 
never-ending  cheers  so  long  as  he  was  in  sight,  and 
there  was  not  one  of  his  soldiers,  it  was  said,  but  who 
was  willing  to  die  if  he  could  only  fall  within  .sight 
of  his  commander. 


ANTONIO  JOSE   OTEKO. 

Antonio  Jose  Otero  was  a  native  of  Valencia 
county,  New  Mexico,  having  been  born  in  the  Plaza 
of  Valencia  on  the  13th  day  of  March,  1809.  He  was 
the  son  of  Vicente  Otero.  His  mother's  name,  before 
marriage,  was  Gertrudes  Chaves.  His  grandfather  was 
Don  Pedro  Otero,  who  came  to  Santa  F6  about  the 
year  of  American  Independence,  and  afterwards 
moved  to  Valencia.  Judge  Otero  lived  at  Peralta,  in 
the  county  of  Valencia,  when  the  American  army  un- 
der General  Kearny  took  possession  of  the  Territory, 
and  was  thirty-five  years  of  age  when  invested  with 
the  judicial  ermine  by  General  Kearn}'.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Francisca  Chaves,  and  left  him  surviving  Man- 
uel Rito,  Teresa.  Adolfo,  Meliton  S.,  Mariana  and  Vir- 
ginia Otero.  He  died  on  the  19th  day  of  November, 
1870.  at  Peralta,  his  home. 

Judge  Otero  presided  over  the  third  circuit  court, 
which  comprised  all  of  the  territory  south  of  Santa 
Fe  and  all  of  what  is  now  the  Territory  of  Arizona. 
William  Henrie  and  Celso  Cullar  Medina  were  clerks 
of  his  court.  Some  of  the  records  may  be  found  in 
the  office  of  the  probate  clerk  of  Valencia  county. 

He  was  a  man  of  enlarged  views  and  command- 
ing influence,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  those 
who  enjoyed  his  personal  acquaintance.  He  readily 
accepted  the  situation  when  the  conquest  came,  and 
was  always  recognized  as  most  lojal  to  American 
ideas  and  institutions.  He  received  a  portion  of  his 
education  at  Laguna,  New  Mexico,  where  he  was 
taught   by   Fr.   Penol,   a   Franciscan   friar.     He    also 


3<)2  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

studied  with  Fr.  Antonio  Jose  Martinez,  of  Taos.  He 
was  endowed  by  nature  with  fine  intellectual  powers, 
all  of  which  were  developed  and  strengthened  by  dis- 
cipline which  enabled  him  to  comprehend  readily  and 
accurately  the  important  questions  demanding  his  at- 
tention in  after  years.  He  was  a  very  cautious  man, 
rarely  giving  expression  to  an  opinion  until,  upon  re- 
flection, the  matter  under  consideration  was  clearly 
and  definitely  fixed  in  his  mind.  It  is  a  matter  of 
more  than  passing  notice  that  Judge  Otero,  born  and 
reared  under  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  governments, 
whose  laws  and  customs  were  so  different  from  those 
of  the  United  States,  growing  to  manhood  in  a  j)or- 
tion  of  the  world  at  that  time  far  removed  from  all 
the  influences  of  modern  thought  and  civilization,  re- 
siding in  a  locality  whose  inhabitants  were  engaged 
six  months  in  every  year. in  wars  with  hostile  Indians, 
could  so  well  fill  his  i)lace  upon  the  bench. 

While  sitting  as  a  member  of  the  Superior  Court 
he  delivered  the  only  opinion  coming  from  that  court 
which  has  been  preserved.  This  opinion  was  delivered 
in  the  month  of  January,  1848,  in  the  case  of  Joab 
Houghton,  administrator  of  Juan  A.  Archuleta  vs. 
Manuel  Armijo,  and  was  an  action  of  debt.  The  i)lain 
tiff  at  the  time  was  Chief  Justice  of  the  court  of  which 
Judge  Otero  was  a  member,  and  the  defendant  was 
the  ex-governor  and  commander-in-chief  under  Mex- 
can  rule.    In  his  opinion,  the  court  says: 

*'The  appellant  files  his  motion  for  dismissal  of 
the  ai){)eal  on  the  ground  that  there  is  no  affidavit, 
as  required  by  the  statute.  This  would  certainly  be 
good  cause  for  the  dismissal  if  the  court  regarded  the 


'  OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  363 

case  as  being  before  it  by  the  common  mode  of  appeal. 
There  seems  to  be  an  obscurity  in  the  law  as  it  exists 
at  present,  which  the  court  feels  bound  to  follow  as 
far  only  as  the  dictates  of  justice  would  warrant.  In 
the  strict  letter  of  the  statute  there  is  but  one  mode 
of  appeal,  and  the  want  of  an  affidavit  would  be  good 
cause  for  a  dismissal;  but  in  another  section  of  the 
statute  it  appears  to  recognize  a  difference  in  an  ap- 
peal and  a  writ  of  error.  The  court,  believing  that  the 
ends  of  justice  will  be  attained  by  bringing  the  merits 
of  the  appeal  before  it,  overrules  the  motion  of  the 
plaintiff." 

It  will  be  seen  by  this  opinion,  or  at  least  by  its 
wording,  that  the  court  found  it  necessary  to  follow 
an  "obscurity  in  the  law,"  to  the  end  that  substantial 
justice  might  be  done  to  all  concerned. 

Judge  Otero  was  the  only  man  of  Spanish  or  Mex- 
ican origin  who  ever  sat  upon  the  Supreme  Bench  in 
New  Mexico.  He  was  a  representative  of  his  race, 
faithful  to  his  friends,  his  country  and  his  God,  and 
no  better  eulogy  could  be  pronounced,  no  monumenl 
or  statue  of  bronze  or  marble  could  equal  in  value 
the  record  he  left  his  people— a  just  and  upright  judge. 


Governor  Henry  Connelly. 


HENRY  CONNELLY. 

Henry  Connelly  was  of  Irish  descent,  his  fore- 
fathers having  been  citizens  of  the  County  Armagh, 
Ireland.  About  the  year  1689  the  Connellys  came  to 
America  and  settled  where  now  is  built  the  city  of 
(  harleston,  South  Carolina.  His  ancestors  in  America 
were  heroes  of  the  Revolution,  fighting  in  the  patriot 
armies  of  Washington,  Greene,  Morgan,  Gates,  Lincoln 
and  Pinckney.  After  the  Revolution  some  of  the  Con- 
nellys moved  west  into  Kentucky,  Dr.  Henry  Con- 
nelly's father  settling  in  Nelson  county  of  that  state 
about  the  year  1789.  Henry  Connelly  was  educated  in 
the  county  schools.  Afterwards  he  attended  the  Med- 
ical school  of  the  Transylvania  University  at  Lexing- 
ton, Kentucky,  being  among  the  first  to  graduate  from 
that  institution.  Dr.  Henry  Connelly  graduated  in 
1828  and  soon  left  Kentucky  for  Missouri  and  settled 
in  Liberty,  Clay  county,  of  that  state.  In  the  same 
year  he  left  the  state  for  Chihuahua,  Mexico.  Here 
he  was  employed  as  a  clerk  and  later  on  purchased 
the  establishment.  He  was  in  business  in  the  city  of 
Chihuahua  for  many  years  and  had  for  a  partner 
Edward  J.  Glasgow,  who  had  been  in  business  at 
Mazatlan.  He  was  married  in  Mexico,  in  the  town  of 
Jesus  Maria,  in  the  year  1888.  There  were  three  chil- 
dren born  of  this  marriage,  one  of  whom,  Peter,  is  now 
living  in  Kansas  City,  Missouri. 

Prior  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  Mexico, 
Dr.  Connelly  brought  his  children  to  Missouri  and  re- 
turned to  Chihuahua.  His  wife  died  a  few  years  after- 
ward. 


3GG  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

Dr.  Connelly  was  in  Santa  F^  at  the  time  that 
General  Kearny  reached  Bent's  Fort  on  the  Arkansas 
and  acted  as  agent  for  Governor  Armijo  at  the  time 
that  Captain  Cooke  arrived  in  the  capital.  Prior  to 
Doniphan's  capture  of  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  about 
the  time  of  the  battle  of  Brazito,  Dr.  Connelly  was 
arrested  by  the  Mexican  authorities  and  taken  to 
("hihuahua  and  confined,  but  was  subsequently  re- 
leased. He  remained  in  Chihuahua  until  the  close  of 
the  war,  leaving  that  city  for  Santa  F^  some  time  in 
1848,  and  going  to  the  city  of  Santa  F6,  in  which  place 
he  resided  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  also  had 
a  home  at  Peralta,  Valencia  county,  where  he  married 
Dolores  Perea,  widow  of  Jose  Chaves,  the  father  of 
Colonel  J.  Francisco  Chaves,  from  whom  the  author 
received  most  of  the  information  contained  in  this 
sketch.  Dr.  Connelly  was  engaged  in  merchandizing 
in  New  Mexico  from  the  time  that  he  came  from 
Chihuahua  and  had  houses  in  several  towns  in  the 
Territory. 

Dr.  Connelly  was  governor  of  New  Mexico  during 
the  war  between  the  states  and  was  reappointed  by 
President  Lincoln  in  1864.  He  was  succeeded  by  Gen- 
eral K.  I).  Mitchell,  .^oon  after  the  accession  of  Johnson 
to  the  presidency.  To  Governor  Connelly,  more  than 
to  any  one  else,  was  due  the  fact  that  the  Confederacy 
secured  no  permanent  foothold  in  New  Mexico.  So- 
cially he  was  a  man  of  refinement  and  great  intelli- 
gence. His  good  work  for  the  i)eoi)le  of  New  Mexico 
will  some  day  be  ])erj)etuated  by  a  suitable  monument 
to  his  memory.     He  died  at  Santa  F6  in  July,  1800. 


General  Francis  Preston  Blair,  Jr. 


FRANCIS  PRESTON   BLAIR,  JR. 

The  ancestors  of  Francis  Preston  Blair,  Jr.,  came 
to  America  from  Ireland  in  1735,  his  great-grandfather 
having  been  John  Blair,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman. 
He  was  born  in  Lexington,  Kentucky,  February  19, 
1821,  and  died  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  July  11,  1875.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
the  city  of  his  birth,  and  attended  Princeton  College, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1841.  He  studied  law 
in  the  office  of  L.ewis  Marshall,  and  later  entered  upon 
the  practice  of  his  profession  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  having 
formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother,  Montgomery 
Blair.  He  came  to  the  far  West  in  1845,  a  health 
seeker,  and  was  at  Bent's  Fort  on  the  Arkansas  when 
General  Kearny  and  the  Army  of  the  West  reached 
that  point  in  July,  184G.  He  joined  the  column  and 
came  with  Kearny  to  Santa  F6,  where  he  aided  Gen- 
eral l)oni}>han,  Willard  P.  Hall  and  I>r.  David  Waldo 
in  the  preparation  of  what  is  known  as  Kearny's  Code. 
Kearny  api)ointed  him  United  States  Attorney,  and 
it  was  Blair  who  drew  the  indictments  for  treason 
found  against  the  conspirators  who  brought  on  the 
Taos  revolution,  in  1847.  He  returned  to  Missouri  in 
that  year.  General  Price,  the  military  commander  at 
Santa  F^,  having  abolished  the  office  of  attorney  gen- 
eral, to  which  Blair  had  been  appointed.  Upon  his 
return  to  ^lissouri.  Blair  journeyed  to  Woodford 
county,  Kentucky,  where  he  was  married  to  a  Miss 
Alexander.  He  returned  to  Si.  Louis  and  resumed  the 
j)ractice  of  his  profession.  Blair  was  never  an  aboli- 
tionist, but  was  elected  to  the  Missouri  Legislature 


MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  369 

as  a  Free-Soilei*  in  1852  and  again  in  1854.  He  was 
a  great  friend  of  Senator  Thomas  H.  Benton  and  sup- 
ported his  son-in-law,  Fremont,  for  President  in  1850. 
In  this  year  he  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress. 
At  the  following  election  he  was  defeated,  but  again 
elected  in  1860  and  was  Chairman  of  the  House  Com- 
mittee on  Military  Affairs.  Blair  was  a  strong  Union 
man  and  used  his  great  influence  in  his  state  to  pre- 
vent its  seceding  from  the  Union.  He  was  particularly 
active  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  and  it  was  under  his 
leadership  that  men  were  drilled  night  and  day  pre- 
paratory for  the  great  struggle  which  Blair  knew  was 
coming.  General  Lyon  was  in  command  of  this  force 
and  through  Blair's  foresight,  in  the  organization  of 
this  army,  made  it  possible  for  Lyon  to  capture  Camp 
Jackson. 

Some  time  after  the  battle  of  Wilson  Creek,  Blair 
was  commissioned  a  Major-General  in  the  Federal 
army  and  participated  in  the  Vicksburg  campaign, 
where  he  commanded  the  Second  Division  of  Sher- 
man's Corps.  He  was  at  this  time  a  member  of  Con- 
gress and  was  re-elected.  Two  years  later  he  was  in 
command  of  the  Seventeenth  Army  Corps  and  marched 
with  Sherman  to  Atlanta  and  the  sea.  In  1866,  after 
the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  he  was  made 
a  commissioner  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  In 
1868,  he  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  for 
Vice-President,  with  Horatio  Seymour,  of  New  York, 
as  the  candidate  for  President.  He  was  a  Senator  of 
the  United  States  from  1871  to  1873,  having  been 
appointed  to  the  position  upon  the  acceptance  of  the 
resignation  of  Senator  Charles  D.  Drake,  who  became 
chairman  of  the  Court  of  Claims. 


370  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

Hlair  was  a  strong  Union  man,  but  after  the  war 
he  (lid  everything  within  his  power  to  assist  the  Con- 
federate soldier  in  securing  the  rights  of  American 
citizenshi}).  General  Blair's  ];o8ition  during  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  reconstruction  plans  following  the 
close  of  the  war  was  a  very  dangerous  one,  but  it  was 
very  largely  through  his  courage  and  espousal  of  their 
cause  that  they  were  finally  restored  to  their  civil 
rights.  General  Blair  was  subjected  to  a  great  many 
annoyances  and  indignities  growing  out  of  his  efforts 
to  restore  the  ex-Confederate  soldier  to  his  civil  rights. 
He  canvassed  the  state  of  Missouri,  speaking  in  many 
places,  and,  upon  several  occasions,  was  assailed  and 
interrupted  by  persons  in  his  audience  who  did  not 
understand  (Jeneral  Blair's  patriotic  and  unselfish  mo- 
tives and  his  love  for  equal  rights  to  all. 

Upon  one  occasion*^  he  was  addressing  a  meeting 
of  the  citizens  of  Audrain  count}'.  His  mission  was 
one  of  peace  and  in  the  interest  of  a  re-constructed 
Union  and  the  restoration  of  the  ballot  to  the  Con- 
federate soldiers  of  the  state.  There  were  j)resent  at 
the  meeting  a  number  of  ex-Union  soldiers  who  did 
not  agree  with  the  sentiments  being  expressed  by 
(Jeneral  Blair,  and  some  of  them  threatened  to  take 
liim  ficim  the  speaker's  stand.  The  crowd  of  citizens 
present  Avas  very  large  and  filled  a  large  grove  of 
forest  trees  in  which  the  stand  had  been  placed. 
Marked  attention  was  being  given  to  every  word  ut- 
tered l)v  the  speaker,  and  just  as  General  Blair  was 
beginning  to  warm  to  his  subject,  a  large,  stalwart 
man  in  the  audience,  clad  in  the  faded  blue  uniform 
of  a  T'nion  soldier,  in  the  midst  of  others  similarlv 


'St.  Ivouis  Globe-Democrat,  February  19,  1899. 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    NEW    -MEXICO.  371 

dressed,  cried  out:  "He's  a  d — d  rebel!  Let  us  take 
him  down!"  and  moved  toward  the  stand  in  a  threat- 
ening manner.  The  audience  stood  mute,  but  Blair 
never  flinched.  Waving  his  hand  to  the  audience,  he 
said:  "Keep  your  seats;  there's  no  danger."  At  the 
same  moment  he  placed  two  large  revolvers  on  the 
stand  in  front  of  him  and  denounced  the  leader  of  the 
threatening  mob  as  a  coward  and  telling  him  to  come 
ahead  and  take  him  down,  as  he  was  ready  for  him. 
The  leader  and  his  friends  made  no  further  effort  to 
disturb  General  Blair,  w^ho  continued  to  address  the 
meeting  for  more  than  two  hours,  amid  demonstra- 
tions of  great  applause. 

General  Blair  had  many  such  experiences  in  other 
portions  of  the  state.  At  a  meeting  held  in  Louisiana, 
Pike  county,  an  immense  crowd  was  present  to  hear 
him.  No  sooner  had  he  been  introduced  to  the  audi- 
ence, and  before  he  had  uttered  a  word,  he  unbuckled 
his  belt  and  placed  it,  witli  tw^o  large  revolvers,  upon 
the  table  in  front  of  him.  Then  he  said:  "Fellow 
Citizens  of  Pike  County — I  have  an  interesting  item 
of  news  to  tell  you  before  I  make  my.  speech.  I  un- 
derstand that  I  am  to  be  killed  here  to-day.  As  I 
have  recently  come  out  of  four  years  of  that  business, 
I  think  the  killing  had  better  be  attended  to  before 
the  speaking  begins."  The  General  paused  for  a  mo- 
ment. No  hostile  demonstration  was  made,  and  he 
proceeded  with  his  address.  Very  soon,  however,  a 
large,  rough  appearing  man  in  the  audience  arose  and 
shouted  :  "He's  nothing  but  a  rebel !  Take  him  out !" 
The  audience  was  visibly  excited  and  rose  to  its  feet. 
But  Blair  was  unmoved,  and  pointing  his  finger  at  the 
author  of  the  disturbance,    said:     "Well,    come    and 


372  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

take  me  out."  But  the  man  made  no  further  move, 
knowing  that  Blair  intended  to  use  his  weapons  if 
any  assault  was  made  upon  him.  He  was  not  inter- 
rupted from  that  time  on. 

General  Blair  did  not  know  the  meaning  of  the 
word  fear.  Many  times  was  he  put  to  the  test  under 
circumstances  calculated  to  unnerve  the  stoutest 
heart.  Upon  one  occasion,  when  it  was  almost  death 
for  a  public  man  to  declare  himself  opposed  to  the  in- 
stitution of  slavery,  he  made  an  appointment  to  ad- 
dress the  people  of  Ironton,  Missouri,  and  it  was  an 
nounced  that,  if  he  attempted  to  do  so,  he  would  be 
mobbed.  When  General  Blair  reached  the  town,  it 
was  learned  that  an  armed  mob  had  assembled  in  the 
court  house  to  prevent  his  speaking.  When  he  arose 
to  deliver  his  address,  the  few  friends  he  had  present 
were  greatly  alarmed,  but  their  fears  were  soon  dissi- 
pated when  they  saw  his  calm  demeanor  and  heard 
him  declare  that  an}'  man  who  had  come  to  the  meet- 
ing armed,  with  the  intention  to  use  violence  against 
him,  was  too  great  a  coward  to  attempt  it.  For  nearly 
two  hours  he  spoke  without  interruption,  and  after 
wards  received  the  congratulations  of  many  present, 
who  entertained  opposite  views  upon  the  slavery  ques- 
tion. He  delivered  addresses  in  nearly  every  part  of 
the  state  of  Missouri,  and,  outside  of  a  few  rotten  eggs 
that  were  thrown  at  him  in  the  night  time,  he  never 
met  with  any  pronounced  resistance. 

He  was  a  very  brave  man,  but  it  has  been  said, 
by  men  who  served  in  his  corps,  that  he  never  went 
into  battle  without  ample  prei)aration,  and  that  he  al- 
ways consulted  freely  with  his  subordinates  before 
taking  any  important  step.    He  was  without  fear  and 


OP    THE    TEKRITORY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  373 

still  he  was  not  impetuous.  He  did  not  possess  a  mil- 
itary education,  but  there  were  few  better  soldiers  in 
the  army.  Both  Generals  Grant  and  Sherman  had 
an  exalted  opinion  of  his  military  services,  and  upon 
several  occasions  made  reference  in  the  most  compli- 
mentary terms  to  his  military  genius. 

General  Blair  was  a  politician,  and  in  him  were 
combined  more  of  the  elements  of  political  success 
than  most  public  men  have  enjoyed.  His  knowledge 
of  men  was  great.  He  was  whole-souled  and  gen- 
erous, utterly  unselfish  and  kept  himself  poor  in  his 
efforts  to  assist  his  friends.  No  better  evidence  of  his 
spotless  integrity  can  be  found  than  in  the  fact  that, 
although  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  become  immensely 
wealthy,  he  died  without  a  cent. 

Many  of  the  people  in  Missouri  criticised  General 
Blair  for  his  course  in  espousing  the  cause  of  the  ex- 
Confederates,  after  the  close  of  the  war.  But  this  crit- 
icism only  made  Blair  the  stronger  in  his  determina- 
tion to  see  them  restored  to  full  civil  rights.  It  was 
his  belief  that  the  only  method  of  restoring  harmony 
and  good  feeling  was  to  extend. to  them  the  hand  of 
fellowship  and  j)ersuade  them  that  their  interest  was 
in  the  Union  and  not  out  of  it.  The  position  thus 
taken  and  maintained  by  him  was  fully  appreciated 
by  those  whom  it  was  intended  to  benefit.  Shortly 
after  his  death,  at  a  meeting  of  ex-Confederates,  in  the 
city  of  St.  Louis,  the  following  resolution  was  passed: 

"Resolved.,  That  we,  the  ex-Confederates  here  as- 
sembled, do  as  deeply  mourn  his  loss,  and  as  heartily 
acknowledge  his  high  character  and  great  abilities,  as 
can  those  who  never  differed  with  him  in  the  past 
great  struggle.     As  soldiers  who  fought  against  the 


374  MILITARY    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

cause  he  espoused,  we  honor  and  respect  the  fidelity, 
high  courage  and  energy  he  brought  to  his  aid.  As 
citizens  of  Missouri,  we  recognize  the  signal  service 
done  his  state  as  one  of  her  senators  in  the  National 
Council;  as  Americans  we  are  proud  of  his  manhood; 
and  as  men  we  deplore  the  loss  from  among  us  of  one 
in  whom  was  embodied  so  much  honor,  generosity  and 
gentleness.  And  we  remember  with  gratitude  that, 
as  soon  as  the  late  civil  strife  was  ended,  he  was 
among  the  first  to  prove  the  honesty  of  his  course  by 
welcoming  us  back  as  citizens  of  the  Union  he  had 
fought  to  maintain;  and  that  he  never  thereafter 
ceased  to  battle  for  the  restoration  and  maintenance 
of  our  rights  under  the  Constitution." 

General  Blair  died  in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his 
age,  and  lies  buried  in  Bellefontaine  Cemetery,  St. 
Louis,  Missouri. 

On  the  day  of  his  funeral  the  city  of  St.  Louis 
was  black  with  its  emblems  of  mourning.  A  great 
man  had  fallen.  The  bar  and  divers  civil  societies 
followed  the  funeral  cortege  to  the  cemetery.  The 
flags  of  fifty  vessels  in  the  harbor  were  trailing  at 
half-mast,  and  every  possible  demonstration  of  grief 
was  made  at  the  loss  of  a  man  whom  General  Sher- 
man characterized  as  "one  of  the  truest  of  patriots, 
most  honest  and  honorable  of  men,  and  one  of  the 
most  fourageous  soldiers  this  country  ever  produced." 


James  Magoffin. 


JAMES  MAGOFFIN. 

James  Magoflftn  was  of  Irish  parentage,  his  father 
having  been  born  in  the  County  Down,  Ireland.  His 
name  was  Beriah  Magoffin,  and  he  was  married  in  Ire- 
hind  to  Jane  McAfee.  They  emigrated  to  America  be- 
fore 1800  and  settled  in  Harrodsburg,  Kentucky,  where 
James  Magoffin  was  born,  in  the  year  1799.  He  had 
six  brothers  and  three  sisters,  one  of  whom,  Beriah 
Magoffin,  was  governor  of  Kentucky.  Beriah  Magoffin 
married  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Shelby,  a  granddaughter 
of  Isaac  Shelby,  Sr,  who  was  the  first  governor  of  Ken- 
tucky, 

James  Magoffin  came  to  New  Mexico  and  Chihua- 
hua about  1828,  and  was  married  in  the  City  of  Chi- 
huahua, in  the  year  18.30,  to  Maria  Gertrudes  Valdez. 
He  was  engaged  in  the  merchandizing  business  in  Chi 
huahua,  and  was  the  American  consul  in  that  state. 
In  1844  he  left  Chihuahua  and  went  to  Independence, 
Missouri,  where  he  bought  a  farm.  His  wife  died  at 
Independence  the  following  jear.  Later  in  the  year, 
with  his  two  sons,  Magoffin  went  to  Washington  and 
there  met  Senator  Thomas  II.  Benton.  He  ])laced  his 
two  sons,  Samuel  and  Joseph,  in  school  in  I^exington, 
Kentucky. 

Upon  the  commencement  of  hostilities  in  the  war 
with  Mexico,  Senator  Benton  sent  to  Independence, 
Missouri,  for  Mr.  Magoffin,  and  ho  was  given  a  secret 
commission  b}-  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
and  instructed  to  go  with  General  Kearny  to  Santa  F6 
and  pave  the  way  of  the  Army  of  the  West  for  the 
occupation  of  New  Mexico  without  bloodshed,  if  pos- 


MILITARY    OCCUl'ATION    OF    NEW    MKXICO.  377 

sible.  Magoflfin  was  a  man  of  mind,  of  will,  of  gen- 
erous temper,  patiiolic  and  rieli.  He  knew  every  man 
in  New  Mexico  and  bis  character,  and  all  the  localities, 
and  was,  in  the  opinion  of  Eenton,  of  infinite  service 
to  the  invading  army."'-  He  agreed  to  go  with  the 
Army  of  the  West,  and  what  he  accomplished  at  Santa 
F6,  where  he  proceeded  with  Capt.  Cooke,  is  men- 
tioned in  the  sketch  of  the  life  of  Diego  Archuleta. 

"Mr.  Magoffin,  having  prepared  the  way  for  the 
entrance  of  General  Kearny  into  Santa  F^,  proceeded 
to  the  execution  of  the  remaining  part  of  his  mission, 
which  was  to  do  the  same  by  Chihuahua  for  General 
Wool,  then  advancing  upon  that  ancient  capital  of  the 
Western  Internal  Provinces  on  a  lower  line.  He  ar- 
rived in  that  city,  became  suspected,  was  arrested  and 
confined.  He  was  a  social,  generous  tempered  man,  a 
son  of  Erin,  loved  company,  spoke  S-panish  fluently, 
entertained  freely,  and  where  it  was  some  cost  to  en- 
tertain— claret,  |30.00  a  dozen;  champagne,  |50.00.  He 
became  a  great  favorite  with  the  Mexican  officers.  One 
day  the  military  judge  advocate  entered  his  quarters 
and  told  him  that  Dr.  Connelly,  an  American,  com- 
ing from  Santa  F^,  had  been  captured  near  El  Paso 
del  Norte,  his  papers  taken,  and  forwarded  to  Chihua- 
hua, and  placed  in  his  hands  to  see  if  there  were  any 
that  needed  government  attention;  and  that  he  found 
among  the  papers  a  letter  addressed  to  him,  MagoflBn. 
He  had  the  letter,  unopened,  and  said  he  did  not  know 
what  it  might  be,  but  being  just  ordered  to  join  Santa 
Ana  at  San  Luis  Potosi,  and  being  unwilling  that  any- 
thing should  happen  after  he  was  gone  to  a  gentle- 
man   who    had    been    so   agreeable   to   him,    he     had 


'Benton's  Thirty   Years'   View,   Vol.   II,   page   682. 


378  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

brought  it  to  him  that  he  might  destroy  it  if  there 
was  anything  in  it  to  commit  him.  MagoflSn  glanced 
his  eye  over  the  letter.  It  was  an  attestation  from 
General  Kearny  of  his  services  in  New  Mexico,  rec- 
ommending him  to  the  acknowledgments  of  the  Amer- 
ican government  in  that  invasion;  that  is  to  say,  it 
was  his  death  warrant  if  seen  by  the  Mexican  author- 
ities. A  look  was  exchanged;  the  letter  went  into  the 
fire  and  Magoffin  escaped  being  shot. 

"But  he  did  not  escape  suspicion.  He  remained 
confined  until  the  approach  of  Doniphan's  expedition, 
and  was  then  sent  off  to  Durango,  where  he  remained 
a  prisoner  to  the  end  of  the  war.  Returning  to  the 
United  States  after  the  peace,  he  came  to  Washington 
in  the  last  days  of  Mr.  Polk's  administration  and  ex- 
pected remuneration.  He  had  made  no  terms,  asking 
nothing,  and  received  nothing,  and  had  expended  his 
own  money,  and  that  freely,  for  the  public  service. 
The  administration  had  no  money  applicable  to  the 
object.  Mr.  Benton  stated  his  case  in  secret  session 
in  the  Senate,  and  obtained  an  approj)riation,  couched 
in  general  terms,  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  secret 
services  rendered  during  the  war.  The  ap])ropriation, 
granted  in  the  last  night  of  the  expiring  administra 
tion,  remained  to  be  applied  by  the  new  one,  to  which 
the  business  was  unknown,  and  had  to  be  presented 
unsupj)orted  by  a  line  of  writing.  Mr.  Benton  went 
with  Magoffin  to  President  Taylor,  who,  hearing  what 
he  had  done,  and  what  information  he  had  gained  for 
General  Kearny,  instantly  expressed  the  wish  that  he 
had  had  some  ])erson  to  do  the  same  for  him.  observing 
that  he  got  no  information  except  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet.     He  gave  orders  to  the  Secretary  of  War  to 


OF    THE    TERRITORY    OF    .NEW     MEXICO.  370 

attend  to  the  case  as  if  there  had  been  no  change  in 
the  administration. 

'The  secretary  (Mr.  Crawford,  of  Georgia)  higgled, 
required  statements  to  be  tiled,  almost  in  the  nature 
of  an  account,  and  finally  proposed  thirty  thousand 
dollars.  It  barely  covered  expenses  and  losses,  but 
having  undertaken  the  service  patriotically,  Magoffin 
would  not  lower  its  character  by  standing  out  for 
more.  The  paper  which  he  filed  in  the  war  office  may 
furnish  some  material  for  history-,  some  insight  into 
the  way  of  making  conquests,  if  ever  examined.*^^ 

"This  is  the  secret  history  of  General  Kearny's  ex- 
pedition, and  of  the  insurrection,  given  because  it 
would  not  be  found  in  the  documents.  The  history  of 
Doniphan's  Expedition  will  be  given  for  the  same  rea- 
son, and  to  show  that  a  regiment  of  citizen  volunteers, 
without  a  regular  officer  among  them,  almost  without 
expense,  and  hardly  with  the  knowledge  of  their  gov- 
ernment, performed  actions  as  brilliant  as  an}'  that 
illustrated  the  American  arms  in  Mexico;  and  made 
a  march  in  the  enemy's  country  longer  than  that  of 
the  ten  thousand  under  Xenophon." 

His  son,  Joseph  ^fagoffin,  went  to  El  Paso,  Texas, 
in  1856,  and  is  still  living  in  that  citv. 


^■''Upon  application  to   the  War  Department   for  copies  of 
the  ^lagofRn  papers,  the  following  advice  was  received: 

"It   is  an  invariable  rule  of  the  Department  not  to   fur- 
nish, nor  to  permit  the  making  of  copies  of  records  such  as 
those  described  within  and  for  the  purpose  indicated  within. 
"By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

"HENRY  P.  McCain, 

"Adjutant  General." 


Colonel  Richard  Hanson  Weightman. 


RICHARD  HANSON  WEIGHTMAN. 

Richard  Hanson  Weightman  was  born  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  was  educated  at  the  United  States 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  and,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  with  Mexico,  lived  in  St,  Louis, 
Missouri. 

When  the  call  was  made  by  the  Governor  of  Mis- 
souri for  troops,  intended  to  become  a  part  of  the 
Army  of  the  West,  under  command  of  General  Kearny, 
the  county  of  St.  Louis,  which  then  included  the  city 
of  St.  Louis,  was  asked  to  furnish  the  artillery  for  the 
expedition,  while  the  northern  river  counties  were 
asked  to  furnish  the  riflemen. 

Major  Meriwether  Lewis  Clark,  of  St.  Louis,  a 
graduate  of  West  Point,  and  a  veteran  of  the  War  of 
1812  and  the  Black  Hawk  War.  undertook  to  raise  the 
two  batteries  required.  Obedient  to  a  call  published 
in  the  newspapers,  many  of  the  first  3'Oung  men  of  the 
city  volunteered  their  services,  being  influenced  in 
some  degree  by  the  Santa  F6  traders'  stories  of  fab- 
ulous wealth  to  be  gained  in  the  Mexican  country. 
The  meeting  of  the  recruits  was  held  on  May  28,  1846, 
in  the  office  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  over  a  black- 
smith's shop  on  Third  street,  between  Pine  and  Olive. 
Here  was  organized  "Battery  'A,'  Missouri  Light  Ar- 
tillery."^* 

Richard  Hanson  Weightman  was  unanimously 
elected  captain.  The  other  officers  chosen  were:  An- 
drew J.  Dorn  and  Edmund  F.  Chouteau,  first  lieuten- 
ants, and  John  O.  Simpson,  second  lieutenant.     The 


^St.  Louis  Weekly  Reveille,  May  29,  1846. 


382  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

sergeants  were  John  R.  Gratiot,  afterwards  elected 
a  second  lieutenant  while  marching  across  the  plains; 
Davis  Moore  and  A.  V.  Wilson;  the  corporals,  William 
H.  Thorpe,  William  Clark  Kennerley,  Clay  Taylor,  J. 
R.  White  and  George  W.  Winston.  Each  artilleryman 
was  required  to  furnish  himself  with  a  good  horse, 
saddle,  clothing,  and,  in  fact,  everything  except  arms. 
The  uniform  adopted,  which  was  similar  to  the  fatigue 
dress  of  the  regular  army,  consisted  of  a  flat  blue  cap 
with  red  band  bearing  the  artillery  emblem,  short  blue 
jacket,  with  red  standing  collar,  and  trousers  with  red 
stripes,  one  stripe  for  the  men  and  two  for  the  officers. 
As  a  further  distinguishing  mark  the  officers  wore  a 
band  of  gold  lace  on  the  collar."^  The  men  all  pro- 
cured Spanish  saddles  of  one  pattern.  The  saddle  was 
little  more  than  a  skeleton  to  which  were  attached  the 
girth  and  stirrup  straps,  rendering  it  cool  and  light 
as  possible  for  the  horse.  A  comfortable  seat  was  ob- 
tained by  placing  a  Mackinaw  blanket  above  and  be- 
neath the  saddle;  these  blankets  were  also  used  by  the 
men  for  cover.  Each  man  had  a  stout  leather  belt, 
supporting  a  large  bowie  knife,  and  many  supplied 
themselves  with  ''revolving  pi.stols."  which  were  then 
just  coming  into  use. 

Stories  of  Indian  massacres  and  hardships  to  be 
encountered  on  the  Great  Plains,  told  by  friends  and 
relatives  for  the  i)urpose  of  discouraging  the  young 
men  from  going,  served  only  to  whet  their  appetite 
for  adventure.  They  were  also  wrought  up  by  the 
exciting  narratives  of  an  old  Canadian  hunter,  Antoine 
Clement,  famous  in  his  day  as  the  only  trapper  in  the 
West  who  could  approach  a  grizzly  bear  on  foot  with 


'History  of  Battery  "A"— Mo.  Hist.  Society  Collections. 


OP    THE    TERRITOKY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  383 

any  hope  of  victory,  and  Antoine  was  going  with  the 
expedition. 

Battery  "A"  became  the  corps  d'clite  of  the  ex- 
I)edition.  Everybody  wanted  to  serve  under  Captain 
Weightman  and  become  a  comrade  in  arms  of  the 
intrepid  Antoine.  The  result  was  that  Battery  "B," 
needed  to  complete  the  battalion,  suffered  for  lack  of 
recruits.  The  other  organizations  from  the  vicinity 
of  St.  Louis,  Captain  Fischer's  German  Troop  of  Dra- 
goons, the  Laclede  Rangers  under  Captain  Hudson, 
and  a  company  of  Florissant  mounted  men,  under 
Captain  Edmondson,  were  all  organized  and  ready  to 
move  before  Battery  ''B"  was  complete  with  its  quota. 
Finally,  to  expedite  matters,  Captain  Fischer's  troop 
was  converted  into  a  horse  battery,  which  became 
Battery  "B"  of  Clark's  Battalion. 

On  June  13,  1846,  a  crowd  of  citizens  assembled 
on  the  levee  to  see  the  men  of  Weightman's  Battery, 
one  hundred  and  five  strong,  embark  with  their  horses 
and  baggage  on  the  steamboat  for  the  trip  up  the 
Missouri  river.  At  Fort  Leavenworth  the  command 
was  mustered  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  but 
had  to  await  the  arrival  of  their  guns  from  Pittsburg. 
Meanwhile  the  departure  every  day  or  so  of  long  trains 
of  transport  wagons,  with  orders  to  push  on  as  fast  as 
possible,  made  the  men  impatient  and  despondent. 
Another  distressing  circumstance  was  the  illness  of 
Captain  Weightman,  who,  it  was  feared,  wOuld  have 
to  be  left  at  the  Fort. 

The  long  overland  journey  began  on  June  30,  184G. 
The  St.  Louis  Flying  Horse  Artillery  rode  out  of  Fort 
Leavenworth  into  the  Great  West.  To  each  of  the 
eight  long  brass  guns,  the  two  twelve-pound  howitzers 


384  THE    MILITARY    OCCUPATION 

and  to  the  caissons  were  hitched  four  fine  dragoon 
horses.  As  usual,  with  horses  first  put  to  artillery 
service,  many  mishaps  arose.  On  the  second  day  out, 
while  fording-  a  small  stream,  with  steep  banks,  the 
drivers  quickly  tangled  up  their  plunging  and  kicking 
animals  and  might  have  stopped  there  forever,  had  not 
the  cannoneers  dismounted  and  dragged  the  guns  by 
hand  up  the  muddy  banks.  Then  came  the  prairies, 
with  grass  so  high  and  rank  that  it  reached  to  the 
backs  of  the  horses,  making  progress  very  slow. 

One  month  after  leaving  Fort  Leavenworth  the 
column  arrived  at  Fort  Bent.  After  leaving  Fort  Bent 
and  while  on  the  l*urgatoire,  a  Mexican  spy  was  cap- 
tured and  brought  into  the  presence  of  General 
Kearny.  He  looked  for  immediate  punishment  and 
was  much  surprised  when  General  Kearny  took  pains 
to  show  him  his  army  and  equipment  and  then  told 
him  to  rej)Oit  to  the  Governor  of  New  Mexico  what 
he  had  seen. 

While  at  Fort  Bent  the  battery  received  a  supply 
of  draught  mules  to  fill  the  places  of  the  many  horses 
that  the  long  march  had  killed  off.  Out  of  the  one 
hundred  fine  cannon  horses  originally  supplied,  not 
over  forty  were  left  after  the  march  across  the  Great 
Plains. 

When  the  command  reached  Las  Vegas  it  was 
joined  by  Captain  Weightman,  who  had  been  left 
behind  at  l'\)it  Leaven woi'th.  The  men  of  Battery  "A" 
greeted  him  with  a  round  of  cheers.  Now  they  were 
keen  for  the  fray.  At  the  Apache  Pass,  where  they 
exjiected  to  meet  the  enemy,  none  was  found,  and,  on 
the  18th  of  August,  the  army  marched  into  Santa  F^, 


OF    TlIK    TKURITOUY    OF    XlOW    .MEXICO,  38o 

luiviiij;'  traveled  over  eij^iit  liiuidred  and  tifly  miles  in 
six  weeks. 

(.'aptain  Weiglitnian  brought  willi  him  and  deli\ 
ered  to  General  Kearny,  at  Las  Vegas,  his  commission 
as  a  Brigadier  General  in  the  army  of  the  I'nited 
States,  lie  was  a  most  gallant  and  capable  otticer  and 
participated  in  the  battle  of  Sacramento,  lie  was  also 
a  paymaster  in  the  army  and  was  discharged  in  1S4I). 
When  the  war  with  Mexico  was  over,  he  came  to  Santa 
Fe,  where  he  i)racticed  law  and  incidentally  conducted 
a  small  newspaper.  He  was  very  active  in  the  ])olitics 
of  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico,  and  was  very  pro- 
nonnced  in  his  criticism  of  the  actions  of  the  military 
authorities  dnring  the  military  occupation  of  New  Mex- 
ico. Together  with  Captain  Angney,  who  had  served 
with  him  during  the  war,  he  inaugurated  a  great  cam- 
paign against  Hugh  N.  Smith,  who  had  been  sent  to 
Washington  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  peo])le, 
but  Snnth  was  successful  and  was  elected  delegate  to 
congress  from  the  Territory.  In  1850,  just  prior  to  the 
establishment  of  the  territorial  form  of  government, 
Weightman  w^as  elected  United  States  Senator  from 
New  Mexico,  in  an  effort,  at  that  time,  on  the  part  of 
the  people,  to  secure  statehood  for  the  Territory.  He 
was  elected  to  congress  and  served  two  years,  1851- 
1852. 

.Vt  the  time  that  he  was  conducting  a  newspa])er 
in  Santa  F^  occurred  the  altercation  between  him  and 
Felix  X.  Aubrey,  resulting  in  the  death  of  the  latter. 
Aubrej'  had  claimed  to  have  discovered  a  new  pass 
through  the  mountains  to  California.  Weightman,  in 
his  paper,  had  cast  some  doubt  upon  Aubrey's  discov- 
ery.   Shortly  afterwards  Aubrey  returned  to  Santa  Fe, 


380  Tin:    MILITARY    OCCUPATIOX 

aiul.  iiHH'ting  Weij^htnian  in  the  Plaza,  proceeded  with 
liini  to  the  bar  of  tlie  old  Exchanj^e  Hotel  (Fonda), 
wlnre  thev  were  about  to  take  some  brandy,  as  was 
the  custom  of  the  time.  Aubrey  raised  his  glass  to 
his  lij)s.  and.  jmtting  it  down,  said,  "What  has  become 
of  your  paper?''  Weightman  answered:  "Dead."' 
"What  killed  it?"  asked  the  other.  "Lack  of  support," 
was  the  reply.  "The  lie  it  told  on  me,  killed  it,"  said 
Aubrey.  Without  a  word,  Weightman  threw  a  glass 
of  brandy  into  Aubrey's  face,  and,  while  blinded  by  its 
effect,  stabbed  him  to  death.  Major  Weightman.  in 
speaking  of  the  affair  afterwards  to  a  friend,**'  said 
that  he  saw  that  Aubrey  was  angry  and  was  drawing 
ills  ])istol.  and  that  one  or  the  other  must  be  killed, 
and  that  he  only  struck  to  save  his  own  life. 

Major  Weightman  was  always  a  great  friend  of 
the  native  New  Mexicans.  He  was  always  on  the  alert 
in  their  defense.  While  a  delegate  in  Congress,  he 
made  an  imi)assioned  address  in  their  behalf,  the  occa- 
sion being  the  contest  for  his  seat  in  that  body  by 
Captain  A.  W.  Reynolds,  whom  he  had  defeated  before 
the  jx'ople.  A  letter  from  Major  Weightnian,  in  the 
Spanish  language,  sent  to  two  very  j)rominent  citizens 
of  New  Mexico,  of  date  March  20,  ISHii.  from  Wash- 
ington, has  been  preserved.  Messrs.  Miguel  Pino  and 
Ililario  (Jonzales  were  the  recii)ients  of  this  letter. 
In  tliis  letter  Major  Weightman  says:  "Since  my 
arrival  in  the  state  of  Missouri.  I  have  occupied  myself 
in  answering  the  lies  of  persons  who  wisli  to  destroy 
the  good  will  of  the  |)eoj)le  of  our  T<'i'ritory.  and  who 
are  endeav(uing  in  this  way  to  prevent  all  legislation 

"•"Kansas  Historical  Collecticms — Vol.  9.     Account  of  W.  R. 
Bernarfj  of  Westport,  Mo. 


OF    THE    TKRIUTOUY    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  387 

by  conjiress  foi*  our  benefit.  In  answorinj;  the  false- 
hoods of  these  iiulividuals.  and  in  telling  the  truth, 
I  have  spent  time  which  otherwise  I  should  have 
dedicated  to  legislative  business  and  in  the  perform- 
ance of  my  duties  as  your  delegate  in  congress.  Now, 
I  am  going  to  give  you  an  account  of  the  operations 
of  our  enemies.  On  my  way  to  Washington  I  stopped 
over  in  the  state  of  Missouri,  where  I  observed,  with 
much  displeasure,  the  miserable  efforts  that  are  being 
made  by  pernicious  persons,  residents  of  New  Mexico, 
to  destroy  the  good  name  of  the  inhabitants  of  New 
^lexico.  Our  enemies  have  acted  with  a  zeal  worth}' 
of  a  better  cause,  but  to  attain  their  detestable  ends, 
they  have  not  hesitated  in  using  all  sorts  of  falsehood. 
Their  first  statement  was  in  prejudicing  the  minds  of 
the  people  with  monstrous  tales  against  the  native 
New  Mexicans  and  equally  so  against  the  honest 
Americans  living  there,  who  have  declared  that  they 
know  our  peoi)le  best  and  have  found  them  to  be  good, 
generous  and  loyal  to  the  Constitution.  These  men 
have  published  in  various  newspapers  slanderous  false- 
hoods stating  that  the  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico 
harbor  hostility  and  ill-will  toward  the  government 
and  Tjeople  of  the  United  States,  so  much  so,  that  it 
is  unsafe  for  Americans  to  live  among  them.  They 
have  tried  to  nmke  the  i)eople  believe  that  the  death 
of  Burtinett  was  nothing  but  assassination,  cow^ardly 
and  diabolical,  and  that  he  was  killed  for  no  other 
])urpose  than  that  of  trying  to  exercise  his  privilege 
of  voting,  and  that  William  Skinner,  while  making  a 
friendly  visit  to  Dn.  Juan  Cristobal  Armijo,  had  lost 
his  life  in  the  midst  of  cowardly  traitors,  who  had 
surrounded  him  in  order  to  kill  him.    These  are  sam- 


;{88  Tin:    MILITAUY    OCCUI'ATION 

pies  of  the  lios  they  are  circnlatinj?.  Further  than 
lliis.  they  are  eoiistaiitly  represeiitinji;  that  all  the 
New  Mexicans  are  ignorant,  vicious  and  totally  untit 
for  self-government  and  unworthy  of  freedom. 

"They  have  slandered  our  friend,  (lovernor  Cal- 
houn, and  myself  and  are  saying  of  us  that  we  are 
caj>able  only  of  administering  to  tlie  atrocious  i)assions 
of  a  corrupt  and  brutal  people.  Speaking  of  the  clergy, 
they  refer  to  them  in  terms  more  strongly  than  of  the 
pcoj)le  gtnerally,  saying  that  they  are  worse  than 
brutes  and  dishonor  their  calling. 

"To  us  these  slanders  are  so  enormous  that  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  believe  that  there  are  men  so  de- 
j)raved  as  to  invent  tliem.  Th(\v  have  attacked  (lov- 
ernor  Calhoun  and  myself  princii)ally,  because  we  have 
endeavored  to  faitlifully  represent  the  rights  and  in- 
terests of  the  people  of  New  Mexico,  instead  of  turning 
traitors  and  playing  the  role  of  ungrateful  beings. 

"It  is  impossible  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  they 
are  ench'avoring  to  secure  the  re-establishnu'ut  of  the 
repugnant  military  government,  and  believing  this  to 
be  their  ])urpose,  I  have  deemed  it  my  most  sacred 
duty  to  follow  them  step  by  step,  in  order  that  I  miglit 
be  able,  at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  to  refute  their 
slandei'ous  falsehoods. 

"Jn  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  on  November  i:>th.  I  had 
tlu'  oj)portunity  of  making  a  general  rejdy  to  their 
accusations  and  I  herewith  send  you  a  translation  of 
tlu'  article,  which  was  ])ublished  originally  in  Englisli, 
for  y(»ur  satisfa<'t  ion.  The  malice  of  these  enemies  of 
New  Mexico  does  not  conline  itself  to  tiie  columns  of 
the  news]ia|;ers  in  which  their  statements  tirst  ap- 
jM-ared. 


OF    TIIK    TKUUITOUV    OK    MOW     AIIOXICO.  .'{SIJ 

"Tlicv  caiiio  to  W'ashiiiuton  and  iJi'csciitcd  false 
coin jila hits  lo  the  I'l'csidont  of  tlic  riiilcd  States,  in 
tile  fonii  of  an  accusation  aj^ainst  (lovcrnor  Callionn 
and  myself.  Ilavinj;-  lecoived  this  document,  which 
consisted  of  twenty  ]fages,  the  President  sent  for  me, 
](lac('d  i1  in  my  hands  and  asked  me  to  answer  its 
cont(nls.  In  it  are  r-epeated  the  old  lies  which  now 
and  then  have  been  ])ublished  in  the  Gazette,  at  Santa 
Fe,  touchint'-  the  character  of  the  i)opulation  of  New 
^Mexico,  and  adding-  to  all  this  the  slanders  above  r(^- 
f(M-red  to. 

•'1  have  observed  the  natnral  ett'ect  of  all  this  in 
its  jirejudlcing'  the  mind  of  the  President  with  the  idea 
that  the  old  inhabitants  of  tlu^  Territory  are  not  de- 
serving' of  beinji'  admitted  to  the  exercise  of  their  full 
rights  of  citizenshi]),  nor  to  u()\  ern  themselves  as  citi- 
zens of  this  cckuntry;  and  further,  that  in  order  to 
protect  the  lives  of  Americans,  who  are  living  among 
such  a  mob,  it  was  necessary  to  rt'-establish  the  mili- 
tary government. 

"And  now  J  must  tell  you  who  are  the  persons 
signing  these  slanderous  statcnnents.  As  already 
stated,  I  have  seen  the  original  statement,  the  Presi- 
dent, himself,  having  shown  it  to  me  and  ])laced  it  in 
my  hands.  The  names  sigiu^l  to  it  are  the  following: 
Messrs.  IToughton.  Reynolds,  Collins,  ^fcdrorty,  John- 
son, Tulles  and  Quinn. 

"Such  are  the  jsersons  who  occupy  themselves  in 
calumniating  and  slandering  the  ])eo]>le  whom  they  so 
recently  endeavored  to  seduce  with  their  adulations; 
now,  in  their  rage,  they  have  unmasked  tlnnnselves, 
and  it  is  an  easy  matter  now  to  determine  who  are  our 
enemies  and  who  are  our  friends.     Put,  even  this  step 


300  TIIK    MILITAUY    OCCUl'ATIOX 

doos  not  scom  to  satisfy  them  in  tlioir  frenzy.  To  one 
of  tlu*  it'in-est'ntatives  in  Conjfiess.  Mr.  Phelps  of  Mis- 
sonri.  witli  their  continuous  appeals,  they  have  finally 
induced  1o  believe  their  falsehoods  and  have  succeeded 
in  having  him  j)resent  a  memorial  to  the  House  of 
Representatives,  on  the  part  of  Ca})tain  Reynolds, 
claiming  that  he  is  entitled  to  my  seat  in  conjrress, 
the  same  to  which  I  was  elected  by  favor  of  the  lej^al 
voters  of  New  Mexico. 

"That  nuMuorial  contained  various  injurious  allejja- 
tions  ajiainst  the  character  of  our  people  and  their 
governor.  Mr.  Phelps,  in  his  address,  read  several 
extracts  from  the  aforesaid  document,  the  one  pre- 
sent(  d  to  the  President.  To  Mr.  Phelps'  speech  I  made 
rei)ly.  as  your  rei)resentative  in  congress. 

">ry  reply,  which  has  resulted  victoriously,  inas- 
much as  it  was  based  upon  truth,  was  made  in  the 
House  of  Rej)resentatives  on  the  IHtli  of  March,  and 
I  have  already  sent  printed  copies  to  all  parts  of  the 
T'nited  States.  I  have  sent  one  coj)y  of  it  to  New  York, 
in  (d'der  that  it  may  be  translated  into  Spanish,  and 
by  next  mail  I  shall  have  the  honor  and  satisfaction 
of  sending  you  a  translated  copy.  Then  the  jieople 
will  be  able  to  judge  whether  oi-  not  I  have  defended 
the  honor  aiul  interests  of  New  Mexico. 

•  •««•• 

''I  will  send  you  by  next  mail  a  c<unplete  list  of 
the  laws  that  nuiy  1m;  passed.  I  can  nu'ution  some  that 
have  advanced  a  few  steps,  but  which  are  as  yet 
uncom])leted,  viz.:  A  law  granting  to  the  legislature 
the  right  to  manage,  under  certain  conditions,  the 
UKmey  ajtpropriated  for  the  benefit  of  the  Territory; 
the  law  extending  the  regular  sessions  to  sixty  instead 


OF    TlIK    TKURITOUV    OF    .NKW     .MFXICO.  31)1 

of  forty  (lays.  A  law  autlioiizinjj;-  the  employment  by 
each  House  of  an  inteipietei-  and  four  clerks;  a  hiw 
authorizing-  the  jjjovernor  to  convene  the  legislature 
in  an  extra  session  for  ninety  days.  A  law  authorizing 
the  l*resident  to  distril)ute  arms  and  ammunition  of 
wai-  anion*;-  the  inhabitants,  that  they  may  defend 
themselves  against  the  attacks  of  the  savage  Indians 
that  surround  them. 

"Retaining  a  lasting-  memory  of  the  fondness,  the 
hospitality  and  the  confidence,  which  I  have  received 
at  the  hands  of  my  constituents  in  all  parts  of  the 
Territory-,  I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  of  assur- 
ing you  that  I  am 

"Your  true  friend  and  servant, 

"R.  H.  WEIGHTMAX, 
''Delegate  from  New  Mexico." 

Many  stories  are  told  of  Major  Weightman  and  his 
courage  as  a  citizen  and  a  soldier.  Once,  during  the 
campaign  with  Doniphan,  word  reached  him  that  he 
was  being  maligned  by  Lieutenant  (  houteau.  He  sent 
for  Chouteau  and  asked  him  what  he  meant  by  such 
talk.  Chouteau  said  that  ^^'eightman  had  not  treated 
him  fairly  in  some  matter,  and  grew  very  angry  and 
demanded  the  satisfaction  of  a  gentleman.  Weightman 
was  ready  to  afford  him  all  the  satisfaction  desired, 
but  Chouteau,  who  was  carrying  his  right  arm  in  a 
sling,  having  been  wounded,  asked  that  the  meeting 
be  postponed  for  a  while,  else  he  would  be  at  a  dis- 
advantage. "Oh,  that's  all  right,"  said  Weightman, 
"I'll  hold  my  right  hand  behind  me  and  we  will  shoot 
with  our  left  hands."  Fortunately  friends  interfered 
and  the  duel  was  prevented. 


'kV.)'2  l-llE    -MILITAUV    OCCll'ATION 

Once,  wliile  eiij^agcd  in  practicin}!;  law  at  Santa 
Fc.  .Iiui<4('  Joah  lionj^hlon  was  accused  by  \Vei<ilitnuin 
of  sitting;  in  a  case  in  whicli  the  court  was  jtei-soiially 
inleiested.  .Iud<i-e  JI(iu«;hton  i-es|)onded  with  a  chal- 
lenjie.  In  the  duel  that  followed,  soon  afterwards, 
AN'ei^htinan  alone  tired  at  the  word  of  command.  The 
Judjie.  who  was  (h'af,  ducked  his  head,  after  the  bullet 
^^hizzed  by.  and  shouted,  "I  didn't  liear  the  c((mmand 
to  fire.""  "All  rij^ht,"  said  ^^'eightnlan,  lioldinj;  up  his 
luinds,  '\vou  have  tlie  rijj^ht  to  shoot.  Fire  now."  The 
seconds  rushed  in  and  tried  to  induce  Weij;litmau  to 
apolojjize  and  to  sloj)  the  proceeding's.  ''Fll  apoloj^ixe." 
said  ^^'ei^htman,  "as  far  as  being  sorry  is  concerned, 
but  (addressing  his  oi!];onent),  I  <'an"t  take  back  what 
I  said,  judge,  foi-  it  was  so.'"  The  judge  was  willing 
to  accept  that  as  an  ajtology.  but  he  dei-lared  that  if 
Weightman  ever  again  insulted  him  on  the  bench,  he 
would  sho<»t  next  time  to  kill. 

During  the  war  ])et  ween  tlM'  States,  Majoi-  Weight 
man  was  in  (Jeneral  I'rice's  army,  and  was  in  command 
of  a  large  force  of  Missourians  on  Little  Jiiue, -east  of 
In(h'pendence.  Missouii.  Thomas  li.  Cation,  of  Santa 
F('*,  X.  !M..  at  that  tinu'  a  resident  of  L<*xington,  Mo., 
was  an  ofticer  in  liledsoe's  Jiattery,  a  pait  of  Weight- 
man"s  command.  At  the  battle  of  Wilson's  ("i-eek.  Mr. 
("atron  held  conveisat ion  with  Weightman  a  very  shoi-t 
time  before  he  was  killed.  Weightman  had  jK'rsonally 
given  oidei-s  stationing  the  battery  at  a  certain  point 
and  ordering  tliem  to  remain  in  tliat  |)osition  until 
or<h'rs  to  move  came  from  liim.  It  was  only  a  few 
moments  afterwai'ds  that  Weightman  was  shot. 
Planted  on  anotlier  hill  was  a  fedei-al  battery,  unch-r 
<-ommand  of  Captain  BaikotV,  who  had  been  an  ollicei- 


OF    TIIK    TKURITOIiV    OF    XFW     MEXICO.  31).'} 

Avilli  W'eij-litiiiaii  in  the  war  with  Mexico.  This  riiion 
battery  was  silenced  by  the  tremendous  fire  fi'oni  Hh'd- 
soe's  jiuns  and  six  jiuns  were  ca])tured  by  tlie  Con- 
federate forces. 

^^'ritin<i■  of  tlie  death  of  \\'ei<;htnuin,  Edwards 
says:  "Tlie  Confedt'rates  also  lost  many  valuable  offi- 
cers, one  of  the  noblest  and  the  best  beinj*'  Colonel 
l\icliard  Hanson  >\'ei<ihtman,  the  hero  of  ("artha^c. 
the  idol  of  his  command,  i)eerless  soldier,  the  chival- 
rous gentleman  and  th(^  costliest  victim  the  South  has 
yet  ottered  ujion  the  altar  of  her  sacrifices.  Amid  the 
low  «;rowls  of  the  subsidinji-  battle,  amid  the  slain  of 
his  lieroic  brijiade,  who  had  followed  him  three  times 
to  the  crest  of  Bloody  Hill,  and  just  as  the  shrill. 
im};atient  cheers  of  his  victorious  comrades  rang  out 
wildly  on  the  battle  breeze,  Weightman's  devoted 
spirit  passed  away  from  earth,  followed  by  the  tears 
and  heartfelt  sorrow  of  the  entire  army.'"'' 

(Jeneral  Sterling  Price  knew  Weightman's  caj)a- 
bilities  as  a  soldier,  and,  in  his  otficial  report  to  Gov- 
ernor Jackson,  of  the  state  of  ^lissouri,  of  tlie  battle 
of  AN'ilson's  Creek,  says:  "Among  those  who  fell,  moi- 
tally  wounded  u];on  the  battle  field,  none  deserves  a 
dearer  place  in  tlie  memory  of  ^lissourians  than  Ricli- 
ai'd  Hanson  Weightman,  Colonel  commanding  the  first 
brigade  of  the  second  division  of  the  army.  Taking 
u])  arms  at  the  very  begining  of  this  unhappy  contest, 
li(^  had  already  done  distinguished  services  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Ro«ic  (reek,  where  he  connnanded  the  state 
forces  after  the  death  of  the  lamented  Holloway;  and 
at  Carthage,  where  he  won  unfading  laurels  by  the 
dis];lay  of  extraordinary  coolness,  courage  and  skill, 


'■Shelby  and  His  Men,  page  36. 


3J)4  MILITARY    OCCLI'ATION    OF    NEW    MEXICO. 

He  fell  at  the  head  of  his  brigade,  wounded  in  three 
places,  and  died  just  as  the  Aictorious  shouts  of  our 
army  began  to  rise  upon  the  air."** 

""Official  Report— Gen.  Price,  Aug.  12,  1861,  Springfield,  Mo., 
to  Gov.  Claiborne  F.  Jackson. 


ColPKlCK 


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